Pope claims Ukraine war fuelled by 'interests of several empires' & not just of Russia's

The ongoing war that has wreaked widespread devastation in Ukraine "is driven by the 'imperial' interests of ''several empires", head of the Catholic church, Vatican's Pope Francis claimed in an interview with Italian Swiss television RSI on Thursday. He indirectly hurled accusations at the rampant supply of arms by the multiple countries into the war zone, and taking sides due to their own interests in the conflict. Francis' blatant remark came as Kyiv on Thursday managed to restore most of its electricity having plunged into a blackout due to the barrage of Russian missiles that were struck across its territories early Friday morning. 

Ukraine war 'fuelled by imperial interests': Pope Francis

Making an official statement on the ongoing hostilities unravelling on Europe's eastern flank, Pope Francis said that this conflict "was fuelled by imperial interests, not just of the Russian empire, but of empires from elsewhere". The Pope refused to either single out or name any specific countries. During the interview, Pope also expressed his readiness to talk to Putin to broker peace in the neighbouring nation, a prospect that was dismissed by the US and its European union allies. Francis' interview is due to be broadcast on Sunday but some extracts were published early Friday by Italian dailies La Repubblica, La Stampa and Corriere Della Sera. 

Pope Francis had earlier called for a cessation of hostilities in Ukraine as he asserted that there was no victory that can be built on ruins and loss of people's lives. Francis made the statement during his weekly general audience at the Vatican. The leader of the Catholic church said, "Dear brothers and sisters, the day after tomorrow, February 24, will be one year since the invasion of Ukraine, one year since the beginning of this absurd and cruel war; a sad anniversary." "The number of dead, wounded, refugees and displaced people, the (amount of) destruction and economic and social damage speak for themselves," Pope Francis said, "May the Lord forgive so many crimes and so much violence. He is the God of peace. "Let us remain close to the martyred Ukrainian people who continue to suffer," the pontiff added. The latter then pressed for the warring sides and "those in power in countries" to make concrete efforts to end the war, achieve a ceasefire, and start peace talks.