Vatican No 2 urges peace in call with Russia's Lavrov

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis is ready to "do everything" he can for peace in Ukraine, his number two told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in a phone call Tuesday, the Vatican said.

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin conveyed the pontiff's "deep concern" about the conflict and repeated his call for humanitarian corridors to allow civilians and rescuers to escape the violence, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said.

Parolin called for negotiations and reaffirmed the willingness of the Holy See "to do everything, to put itself at the service of peace", he said.

The Russian foreign ministry said in its own statement that during the call Lavrov explained the "causes and objectives of the special military operation in Ukraine".

Lavrov and Parolin discussed the humanitarian situation, including measures to protect the civilian population and help refugees, and expressed hope for a deal to end the conflict, the ministry said.

Pope Francis, who last weekend deplored the "rivers of blood and tears" in Ukraine, has sent two senior cardinals to meet refugees in Hungary and Poland, where Catholic charities are also helping the relief effort.

More than two million people have fled Ukraine since Russia launched a full-scale invasion on February 24, according to the United Nations.

Canadian Cardinal Michael Czerny visited the train station in the Hungarian capital Budapest Tuesday, where the charity Caritas and the Order of Malta are helping around 2,500 Ukrainian refugees every day, according to the Vatican's media portal, Vatican News.

Meanwhile Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, who is Polish, visited the Poland-Ukraine border on Monday to meet refugees, the Vatican press office said.

Both "plan to go to Ukraine in the coming days, depending on the situation", it said.

In an interview with Vatican Radio, Czerny expressed concern that traffickers would take advantage of vulnerable refugees, "by falsely offering them help, and then trapping them in a new problem which is sometimes even worse than what they were fleeing".

He added that he would focus on "Africans and Asians" who have similarly been fleeing Ukraine, amid reports of racial tensions at the borders.

"It is very important that they receive the same welcome and protection and assistance as everyone else," Czerny said. -- Agence France-Presse