Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday and thanked him for the Vatican’s efforts to return children taken by Russia and again suggested the Vatican could host peace talks.

Pope Leo XIV welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the pope’s summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, about an hour south of Rome, to discuss peacemaking efforts in Ukraine, which has been ravaged by war since Russia’s invasion of the country in February 2022.