VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Leo XIV and Russian leader Vladimir Putin held their first telephone conversation June 4 with the pope encouraging Putin to make a gesture to show he is serious about peace with Ukraine, the Vatican press office said.

“I confirm that this afternoon there was a telephone conversation between Pope Leo XIV and President Putin,” said Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office.

While they spoke of several “matters of mutual interest,” Bruni said that “special attention was paid to the situation in Ukraine and peace.”

“The pope made an appeal for Russia to make a gesture that would promote peace, stressed the importance of dialogue for the realization of positive contacts between the parties and seeking solutions to the conflict,” Bruni said.

The pope and pr

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