Pope Francis: NATO actions provoked Russian special operation in Ukraine
The actions and behavior of NATO could "somehow provoke or not prevent" the Russian operation in Ukraine, Pope Francis believes. Bloomberg writes about this with reference to the Italian newspaper La Stampa. The pontiff has previously expressed a similar point of view.
During an interview with a group of journalists, the pope condemned the brutality of the Russian military, but noted that there is no "metaphysical good and evil" in this conflict.
In addition, Pope Francis said that a few months before the conflict, he met with a certain head of state who shared his concerns about the direction in which the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was moving.
The pontiff asked this politician why NATO provokes concern in Europe, and he replied that "they are barking at the gates of Russia." According to the pope, this unnamed head of state understood what was happening.