Vatican diplomat to Ukraine, Russia meets with Biden at White House

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The Vatican envoy who traveled to both Ukraine and Russia on the direction of Pope Francis met with President Biden.

Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, archbishop of Bologna, sat down for two and a half hours with Biden at the White House on Tuesday evening.

Zuppi and Biden discussed "the Holy See’s efforts providing humanitarian aid to address the widespread suffering caused by Russia’s continuing aggression in Ukraine," according to the Vatican.

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Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, Pope Francis' Ukraine peace envoy, arrives for a mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Holy Virgin Mary in Moscow. (Olesya KurpyayevaA/AFP via Getty Images)

Following the meeting, the White House said Biden "shared his wishes for Pope Francis’ continued ministry and global leadership and welcomed the recent nomination of a U.S. archbishop as cardinal."

Zuppi has headed diplomatic missions to both Ukraine and Russia since the beginning of the invasion last year, hoping to broker peace and minimize bloodshed.

Russian officials have publicly expressed openness to the Vatican's attempts to broker an end to the conflict but has criticized a lack of "practical steps." 

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President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris walk back to the Oval Office after an event in the Rose Garden of the White House. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

"We acknowledge the Holy See’s sincere desire to promote the peace process," the Russian Foreign Ministry previously said.

"At the same time, no practical steps have been taken by the Vatican side to organize the trip to Moscow." 

Pope Francis has consistently offered himself as a negotiator and moderator for peace between Russia and Ukraine since the invasion began last year.

Cardinal Matteo Zuppi attends a meeting with Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets to discuss the exchanges of the POWs and the deportation of Ukrainian children in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Kirill Chubotin/Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

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The pontiff has met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Vatican City, worked with the Ukrainian government to care for displaced Ukrainian children and hosted Russian Orthodox church leaders for discussion.