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Pope Francis said in an excerpt of the interview published on Friday that the conflict in Ukraine involves "imperial interests" and is being fought against by "great powers" from around the world.
In an interview, the Pope described how he had offered to go to Moscow to negotiate peace but had been refused. (President Vladimir) Putin knows I am available,” he said, according to a transcript released by RSI before the interview aired on Sunday.
"But there are imperial interests, not only of the Russian Empire, but also of the empires of other parties. It is typical of empires to put nations second,” he said. The Argentinian pope has repeatedly called for peace in Ukraine, although he was criticized for not explicitly blaming Moscow in the first months after the Russian invasion.
In the interview, Francis reiterated his assessment that conflicts around the world currently constitute a third "world war".
“All the great powers are involved. The battlefield is Ukraine. Everyone there is fighting,” he said.