Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Pope Francis on Friday, October 11, at the Vatican.
The purpose of the meeting is to seek help to secure the release of Ukrainians held captive by Russia.
After the meeting, Pope Francis gifted Zelensky a bronze artwork featuring a flower growing next to a bird with the inscription, “Peace is a fragile flower.”
In return, Zelensky presented the Pope with an oil painting of a child surrounded by the ruins in Bucha, a Ukrainian town that was occupied by Russia for 33 days.
Zelensky is touring key European capitals to discuss his proposed “victory plan” during the ongoing conflict with Russia.
However, the Vatican’s statement did not provide any details about their talks in the meeting, but it indicated that the conversations focused on “the state of the war as well as possible ways to bring it to an end.”
They previously met at a Group of Seven (G7) summit in southern Italy in June.
