Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with the pope near Rome on Tuesday as he continued to rally European support for Ukraine while resisting U.S. pressure for a painful compromise with Russia.
Answering reporters’ questions in a WhatsApp chat, Zelensky reaffimed his firm refusal to cede any territory, saying that “we clearly don’t want to give up anything,” even as "the Americans are looking for a compromise today, I will be honest.”
“Undoubtedly, Russia insists for us to give up territories,” he said in the message late on Dec. 8. ”According to the law we don’t have such right. According to Ukraine’s law, our constitution, international law, and to be frank, we don’t have a moral right either."
The Ukrainian president met early yesterday with Pope Leo XIV at Castel Gandolfo, a papal residence outside Rome, and had talks with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni later.
The Vatican said that Leo “reiterated the need for the continuation of dialogue and expressed his urgent desire that the current diplomatic initiatives bring about a just and lasting peace.”
Meloni, who positions herself as a bridge between Trump and Europe, has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine since Russia's invasion, although one of her coalition allies, Matteo Salvini's League party, is more sceptical of aid for Kiev.
Italy has sent weapons to Ukraine, but only for use inside the country. Meloni has also ruled out sending troops in a possible monitoring force proposed by Britain and France.
The Italian government last week postponed a decision on renewing military aid to Ukraine, with the current authorisation due to end on Dec. 31. Salvini has reportedly questioned whether it is necessary in light of current talks.
However, Meloni at the time insisted that "as long as there's a war, we'll do what we can, as we've always done to help Ukraine defend itself."
On Dec. 8, Zelensky held talks in London with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to strengthen Ukraine’s hand amid mounting impatience from U.S. President Donald Trump.
U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators completed three days of talks on Dec. 6 aimed at trying to narrow differences on the U.S. administration’s peace proposal.
A major sticking point in the plan is the suggestion that Kiev must cede control of the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine to Russia, which illegally occupies most but not all of the territory. Ukraine and its European allies have firmly resisted the idea of handing over land.
In an exchange with reporters on Dec. 7 night, Trump appeared frustrated with Zelensky, claiming the Ukrainian leader “hasn’t yet read the proposal.”
Trump has had a hot-and-cold relationship with Zelensky since winning a second term, insisting the war was a waste of U.S. taxpayers’ money. Trump has also repeatedly urged the Ukrainians to cede land to Russia to end the nearly four-year conflict.
Zelensky said on Dec. 8 that Trump “certainly wants to end the war. ... Surely, he has his own vision. We live here, from within we see details and nuances, we perceive everything much deeper, because this is our motherland.”
He said the current U.S. peace plan differs from earlier versions in that it now has 20 points, down from 28, after he said some “obvious anti-Ukrainian points were removed.”
Starmer, Macron and Merz strongly backed Kiev, with the U.K. leader saying that the push for peace was at a “critical stage,” and stressed the need for “a just and lasting ceasefire.”
Merz, meanwhile, said he was “skeptical” about some details in documents released by the U.S. “We have to talk about it. That’s why we are here,” he said. “The coming days … could be a decisive time for all of us.”
European leaders are working to ensure that any ceasefire is backed by solid security guarantees both from Europe and the U.S. to deter Russia from attacking again. Trump has not given explicit guarantees in public.
