European Commission comments on Pope's controversial remarks about Ukraine

The European Commission has commented on Pope Francis' remarks that Ukraine should have the "courage of the white flag" for peace talks with Russia.

Peter Stano, spokesperson for the European Commission, stressed at a briefing in Brussels that peace lies in the hands of one person, and that's Vladimir Putin, who continues to wage war every day.

"We want a just peace. A peace that takes into account the victim of war, and that is Ukraine," Stano emphasised.

On 9 March, Reuters reported that Pope Francis said in an interview this February that Ukraine should have what he called "the courage of the white flag" and negotiate an end to the war with Russia.

The Vatican later clarified the Pope’s remarks, stressing that he was calling for a ceasefire and the resumption of negotiations, not for Ukraine to surrender, and emphasising the Pope’s words that "Negotiation is never a surrender."

Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said in response to Pope Francis’s statement that the Pope should ask Russian President Vladimir Putin to withdraw his occupation forces from Ukraine.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba responded to Pope Francis’s suggestion by saying that Ukraine’s flag is yellow and blue, not white.