Pope: Ukraine's integration into the EU without Russia will only worsen the conflictThe Pope believes that the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine requires not just negotiations, but the establishment of relations between Russia and the West, writes La Croix.
He understands that the reason for the disagreement was the expansion of NATO to the east. But to guarantee peace, a common integration of Europe and Russia is necessary.
According to the chairman of the World Union of Old Believers, Leonid Sevastyanov, the Old Believer branch of Russian Orthodoxy, the Pope, who seeks to improve relations between Russia and Europe, can play an important role in establishing peace in Ukraine. We offer our readers the opinion of Leonid Sevastyanov.
The topic of Pope Francis' possible participation in negotiations between the warring parties is increasingly being discussed in the Russian and world media. Given that all the previous efforts of other mediators over the past few months have been in vain, and the prospects for dialogue are still very vague, the main question is: what can the Pope's attempts to force the participants to sit down at the negotiating table bring?
Solving problems between Russia and the West
From conversations with Pope Francis, I concluded that he has his own vision of conflict resolution. He does not want to limit himself to a cease-fire proposal. He wants to initiate a negotiation process to solve fundamental problems between Russia and the West.
The Pope understands that NATO's advance to the east has become a barrier in relations between Moscow and Western countries. At the same time, he proceeds from the fact that Ukraine's integration into the European Union without Russia will not solve the problem, but will only worsen it. Therefore, in order to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, it is necessary to think about common European integration — with the participation of both Kiev and Moscow in it. This process is similar to the reconciliation between Germany and France after the Second World War, which resulted in the creation of the European Union.
Realpolitik
There is no ideology, no idealism in this approach, only real politics. I am sure that when they created the EU, neither the Germans nor the French had much sympathy for each other. They did not give up either their personal opinions or their own history. But at the same time, they understood that pragmatism should prevail over their ideologies and old grievances. It was the pragmatism of mutual interests that allowed the formation of the European Community. (In 1992, it became the European Union, approx. InoSMI.) This made war between its members impossible, despite the millennia of clashes and wars between the countries of the region that preceded the unification.
Russia, Europe and Ukraine must follow the path of mutual integration if they want to create a secure European space. The increase in military budgets, the production and supply of weapons have never led to peace. The Pope proceeds from the fact that the path to it lies in mutual integration and mutual security, and not in supplying weapons to one side of the conflict against the other.
If the three sides are ready to follow the path of peace, the Pope can offer the mediation of the Vatican. In its history, the Vatican has always maintained a neutral status and sought peaceful resolution of conflicts, becoming a platform for finding compromises and consensus.
Author: Leonid Sevastyanov — Chairman of the World Union of Old Believers
