Scholz disagrees with Pope's controversial remarks, says Ukraine fights back against aggressor

Steffen Hebestreit, spokesperson for the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, has indicated that the latter does not share the opinion of Pope Francis I, who suggested that Ukraine should "have the courage of the white flag".

"As you can guess, the Federal Chancellor does not agree with the Pope on this issue. The fact is that Ukraine is defending itself against an aggressor," German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said, as reported by dpa-AFX.

In addition, Ukraine receives extensive international support to be able to defend itself against Russia's war of aggression that violates international law, the spokesperson added.

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. The European Commission's spokesperson for foreign affairs noted that peace is "in the hands of one person", Russian President Vladimir Putin, because he started the war and is the one who continues to wage it.

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