Pope Francis has once again commented on the war in Ukraine, stating that the return of the occupied Ukrainian territories by Russia is a "political problem" to be resolved by both sides.

Francis spoke about his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Italy on May 13.

"They (Ukrainians – ed.) don't dream so much about peace negotiations, because the Ukrainian bloc is actually very strong: all of Europe, the United States," he said in an interview with Telemundo.

When asked whether Russia should return the occupied territories to Ukraine for the sake of peace, Pope Francis said, "Peace will be achieved once they can talk to each other, face to face or through intermediaries. If they don't talk, it's a political problem," Reuters quotes him.

Last week, it was announced that Pope Francis had asked the head of the Italian Episcopal Conference, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, to create a peace mission for the war in Ukraine.

Presumably, this is the mission the Pope mentioned during his visit to Hungary in April but details have not been disclosed yet.

Following the meeting with Pope Francis, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that he had received a signal of support for the Ukrainian Peace Formula from the Vatican.