Zuppi in Moscow today, three-day mission starting tomorrow

"Cardinal Matteo Zuppi is always welcome in Moscow." This was said to Avvenire by the Russian ambassador to the Holy See, Ivan Soltanovsky, on the eve of the new trip by the Archbishop of Bologna to Russia. According to the CEI's newspaper, Zuppi's third visit to Moscow begins tomorrow — though he will already be in the city starting today. Three days of meetings and talks that will conclude on Wednesday, coming after his visit to Ukraine in July, where the cardinal also entered a detention camp of the Russian army and where he received the request to do the same in Russia to verify the conditions of those captured by the Kremlin's military. In the interview with Avvenire, the Russian ambassador spoke of the work carried out by Zuppi for the liberation and exchange of prisoners: "Every time an agreement is reached, it is a result of great significance, which we naturally welcome. We are very grateful to Cardinal Zuppi for his contribution." As for the exchange of civilian prisoners, "this is a new topic and it is still difficult to say what developments it may have. In-depth work will be needed to establish precisely who falls into this category. Based on the lists received so far, it is still difficult to assess to what extent such exchanges will be possible," said the diplomat. Finally, for Soltanovsky, "the rearmament of Europe is a dangerous process and is, unfortunately, also the result of the complete absence of dialogue between Russia and the EU countries. We observe that part of the European elite is trying to rearm not only the countries but also the minds and hearts of Europeans, who are facing serious economic problems. It is precisely these forces that are sabotaging the peace process in Ukraine." Reproduction reserved © Copyright ANSA