Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s secretary for relations with states and international organizations, met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Russia on Aug. 25 to discuss Russia’s ongoing war with Ukraine.
The Vatican Secretariat of State announced the meeting on its X account the same day, describing it as a meeting where “topics of common interest and current international issues” were discussed between the two parties.
“During the course of the meeting, topics of common interest and current international issues were addressed, with particular attention to the war in Ukraine and the prospects for peace,” the statement on X said.
The meeting took place on the first day of Gallagher’s trip to Russia, Aug. 25–27. Vatican News, the official news outlet of the Holy See, described Gallagher’s trip as “a mission of dialogue and peace.” It is his first trip to Russia since 2021.
According to the schedule published on X by the Vatican Secretariat of State, Gallagher’s meeting with Lavrov on Aug. 25 will be followed by a meeting with Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate.
On Aug. 26, Gallagher will meet with Yuri Ushakov, the foreign policy adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and on Aug. 27, Gallagher will meet with Catholic clergy, religious, and bishops. He will also celebrate Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Moscow.
Vatican News noted that Gallagher’s schedule “confirms the Holy See’s determination to continue along the path of dialogue, even at one of the most difficult moments in international relations at the global level.”
