Vatican secretary of state meets with Zelensky in Kiev

MOSCOW. July 24 (Interfax) - Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's secretary of state, reaffirmed Pope Francis's commitment to reaching a just and lasting peace for Ukraine at a meeting with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky in Kiev on Tuesday.

"Today, Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin met with the president of Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky, to whom he reiterated the Pope's closeness and his commitment to reaching a just and durable peace," Ukrainian media quoted the Holy See's Secretariat of State as saying on its social account.

Cardinal Parolin arrived in Ukraine on July 19 following his appointment as the Pope's pontifical legate for the concluding celebrations of the pilgrimage of Ukrainian Latin Rite Catholics at the Marian Shrine in Berdichev.

In line with the program of the official visit, which is to continue until July 24, Cardinal Parolin first made a brief stop at the episcopate of the metropolitan of Lvov of the Latins and then visited Odessa.

On July 21, he presided over Mass for the concluding celebrations of the pilgrimage of Ukrainian Catholics in Berdichev.

While in Kiev, Cardinal Parolin visited the Greek-Catholic Cathedral, where he met with the Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, Svyatoslav Shevchuk. He has also met with Ukrainian government officials and religious leaders.