Prodi, the former Prime Minister of Italy and former President of the European Commission, was interviewed by this news website after meeting with the Pope, talking about the war in Ukraine and emphasizing the necessity of dialogue between China and the United States.
(Vatican News Network)Former Prime Minister of Italy and former President of the European Commission Romano Prodi met with Pope Francis on the morning of January 20. Later, in an interview with Vatican Radio-Vatican News, Prodi called the meeting “beautiful and warm”. He spoke of Ukraine, a disappointing sign that the two powers were capable of deterring war but never negotiated.
Analyzing the role of the Pope and the Holy See in the peace process in Ukraine, Prodi called it “a complex role, because there are indeed cracks in the world“. Prodi agreed with the pope’s definition of “sporadic third world wars”, noting that “summits at the highest level” might be the solution, since “the two great powers of the world have not yet met”.
“The wishes and actions of the Holy See have not yet come to fruition. We look to the future, because the victims are so numerous and the losses are enormous. But what is more serious is that there has been such an atmosphere of hatred, such tension. In the future in that area, the material Reconstruction is relatively easy, moral and ethical reorganization is difficult”.
The former Prime Minister of Italy expressed his expectation for the dialogue between China and the United States. “Only the Chinese and the Americans can bring about the end of the war,” he said. After eleven months of fighting, “the front line is basically at a stalemate. Both sides think they will win and can destroy each other. It’s like a trench war, so it must be very clear that recourse to great power is absolutely necessary”.
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