Pope Francis on July 26, 2020, expressed hope that reconciliation will grow out of the ceasefire reached this week in the Donbass area of Ukraine, which has been in conflict since 2014.
The agreement aims to bring harmonization and the approval of additional measures of control over a current ceasefire in the ongoing conflict between the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Ukrainian Armed Forces, according to Vatican News. It was reached in the Belorussian capital, Minsk, on Wednesday, and is due to come into force starting Monday, 27 July.
“I understand that a new ceasefire concerning the Donbass area was recently decided in Minsk by members of the Trilateral Contact Group,” Pope Francis said. “While I thank them for this sign of goodwill aimed at bringing much-desired peace to that tormented region, I pray that what has been agreed will finally be put into practice, also through effective disarmament and mine clearance. This is the only way to rebuild confidence and lay the foundations for the reconciliation that is so necessary and so much awaited by the people.”
