Russia takes into account lists of prisoners provided by Pope Francis during the exchange of captives with Ukraine, Moscow’s Ambassador to the Vatican Aleksandr Avdeyev has said.
“The release of Ukrainian prisoners by the Russian side or the exchanges are also conducted with the consideration of the lists regularly provided to us by Pope Francis,” Avdeyev told Italian news website Askanews on Tuesday.
The Pope said in September that he had contacted the Russian ambassador after receiving a list of more than 300 prisoners from “Ukrainian emissaries.” The Kremlin said that Moscow would welcome the Pope’s help in bringing about a peaceful resolution of the conflict.