“I think he’s been doing everything he can behind the scenes,” Gudziak said.
“I’m convinced that he has made every effort to speak to Putin, and I have some information that he has not gotten responses to his gestures toward Patriarch Kirill. But I think that will change,” Gudziak said. “I’m hoping the Russian church leadership will open up.”
Gudziak said one heartening response to the invasion has been a coming together of people from across a range of faith traditions.
“Orthodox, Catholics, east and west, Protestants, Muslims, Jews are united in a stance against this war and are working each and together for humanitarian aid to help people stand strong,” he said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on Putin to meet with him directly, a request that has not been met by the Kremlin. Markarova said any good-faith negotiations toward ending the war will require a cease-fire.
“We have a saying in Ukraine: ‘If Russia stops shooting, the war will stop. If Ukraine stops shooting today, our country will disappear,’” Markarova said. “So it’s totally up to Russia.”
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This article originally appeared on APNews.com.
