On board the papal flight. Unexpectedly, half an hour after taking off from Istanbul for Beirut (a two-hour flight covering 1,128 kilometres), Leo XIV moved to the back of the Airbus A320 to make, in an appearance that lasted no more than ten minutes, some introductions. Your support for The two-state solution His support for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a mediator to achieve peace in Ukraine.
After expressing his great happiness with the first part of his trip to Türkiye, thanking the authorities and recalling the “extraordinary” ecumenical prayer where the Council of Nicaea was held, he answered two questions from Turkish journalists.
They both wanted to know the details of their bilateral meeting with their country’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which took place last Thursday in the capital, Ankara.
Pope Leo He pointed out that the Holy See agrees with Erdogan on the necessity of a two-state solution To resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“We talked about the two issues (Gaza and Ukraine). The Holy See has publicly supported the two-state solution proposal for years. We all know that at this moment.” Israel does not accept this solutionBut we see it as the only option that can provide a solution to the conflict they are still suffering from.”
“We are also friends of IsraelHe added: “We are trying between the two parties, for example, to be a mediating voice that can help them reach a solution that achieves justice for all.”
We also talked about all this with President Erdogan and He agrees to this solution. He added that Turkey has an important role in this matter, and the same applies to Ukraine, referring to the fact that Erdogan was a key mediator in lifting the blockade imposed on Ukrainian grain trade from the Black Sea ports, at the beginning of the Russian war of aggression.
“He helped President Erdogan a lotHe called on the two parties to meet, but unfortunately we have not yet seen solutions (to end the war).”
He added: “Today there are concrete proposals for peace and we hope that President Erdogan, with his relationship with the presidents of Ukraine, Russia and the United States, It can help resolve this conflictHe added.
In another matter, he took advantage of his short meeting with the journalists of the papal trip to shed light on the proposal that was put forward yesterday in Istanbul, when he met with the leaders of the various Christian churches, after the ecumenical meeting to commemorate the Council of Nicaea: a future meeting of all Christians in Jerusalem, in the year 2033, When will the 2000th anniversary of the resurrection of Jesus Christ be celebrated?.
It’s an event we all want to celebrate, The idea of celebrating in Jerusalem was very well received “This is a great event and there are many years to prepare for it,” he said. With humility and a smile, he concluded the meeting by once again thanking the journalists for their work on this first international trip.