Marco Rubio proposes the Vatican as a possible venue for Russia-Ukraine negotiations

Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested Saturday that the Vatican could be a great choice as a neutral venue for a potential peace negotiation between Russia and Ukraine.

The proposal comes after Pope Leo XIV reiterated his commitment to do "everything possible" to end the war.

Rubio traveled to Rome this Saturday, holding meetings with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Archbishop Paul Gallagher and Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, the Vatican's delegate for Ukraine.

Before the meeting with Zuppi, Rubio told reporters they would discuss possible avenues of collaboration with the Vatican and the "state of negotiations" following Friday's meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations.

When asked about the Vatican's role as a possible intermediary in the conflict, Rubio replied that he would not qualify the Holy See as a "mediator" in the strict sense, but as a place where both sides could be "comfortable" negotiating.

“So we’ll talk about all of that and obviously always grateful to the Vatican for their willingness to play this constructive and positive role,” he added.

Department of State spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said that, during the meeting with Zuppi at the U.S. Embassy in Rome, Secretary Rubio thanked the Vatican for its humanitarian work, especially its involvement in prisoner exchanges and the return of forcibly deported Ukrainian children.

Bruce said Rubio "emphasized the importance of continued collaboration under the new leadership of Pope Leo XIV."

The sumo pontiff, the first American pope in history, was elected on May 8 and, in recent days, addressed the call for peace in Ukraine during his first Sunday blessing.

Leone XIV urged the parties to seek an "authentic, just and lasting peace," pledging that he would do all he could to ensure that peace prevailed.

The Holy See, with its long tradition of diplomatic neutrality, has repeatedly offered its willingness to facilitate meetings between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations.

This week, Cardinal Parolin lamented the failure of negotiations in Istanbul and reiterated that the Vatican remains willing to host a direct meeting between the warring parties.