Church and politics: Vance hopes for progress in the search for peace for Ukraine

US Vice President JD Vance has confidently expressed progress in the search for a peace solution for Ukraine. At a meeting with Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome, Vance said: “We are optimistic that we can put this war, this very brutal war.” It did not become more specific. Russia’s war of attack against the neighboring country of Ukraine has been lasting for more than three years.

Vance had arrived in Rome in the morning. Donald Trump’s deputy wants to spend the Easter days with his family in the Italian capital. Meloni had only recently returned from a meeting with Trump in the White House, where Vance was also there.

Speculation about meetings with Pope

The Vice President, who had passed into Catholic faith as an adult, also wants to visit a trade fair in St. Peter’s Basilica. There is speculation about an encounter with Pope Francis, who has so far hardly exercised appointments with foreign guests after his life -threatening pneumonia. The head of the Catholic Church may be added to an already agreed meeting of Vance with Cardinal State Secretary Pietro Parolin.

This Saturday there is also the second round of indirect conversations between Iran and the USA about the controversial Iranian nuclear program. Nothing is known about the participation of the Vice President. After his stay in Italy, the US vice continues to India. His wife Usha Vance has Indian roots.