Vatican diplomats seek to defuse anger over Pope’s Ukraine ‘white flag’ comments

Pope Francis greets Vatican Secretary of State Monsignor Pietro Parolin (Riccardo De Luca/AP)

The Vatican secretary of state is seeking to defuse outrage after Pope Francis’ comments that Ukraine should have the “courage of the white flag” to negotiate an end to the war.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s chief diplomat, insisted in media interviews that a primary condition for negotiations to end the war in Ukraine is an end to Russia’s aggression and that any peace must be a “just peace.”