ROME – Italian Cardinal Mattel Zuppi, Pope Francis’s personal peace envoy for the war in Ukraine, arrived in Moscow on Monday for the second time in an ongoing effort to promote humanitarian collaboration amid the ongoing conflict.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni in a statement to various media outlets confirmed Zuppi’s visit, saying, the cardinal “today began a new visit to Moscow, in the framework of the mission entrusted to him by Pope Francis last year.”

During his visit, Bruni said, Zuppi will “meet with authorities and evaluate further efforts to facilitate the reunification of Ukrainian children with their families and the exchange of prisoners, with a view to achieving the much hoped for peace.”

Zuppi after his arrival Monday met with Russian Foreign Minister Serghei Lavrov for a meeting which, according to a readout from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, entailed an “in-depth discussion on cooperation in the humanitarian sphere in the context of the conflict around Ukraine.”

It also focused on “a number of topical issues on the bilateral and international agenda,” the statement said, saying the conversation also highlighted the “constructive development of the Russia-Vatican dialogue.”

Pope Francis named Zuppi, archbishop of Bologna and president of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, as his special envoy for peace in Ukraine in 2023.

In this capacity, Zuppi last summer embarked on four-part peace mission that took him to Kyiv from June 5-6, 2023, and to Moscow from June 28-29 of that year, where he met with top ecclesial and government officials, including Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill.

He also met Yuri Ushakov, Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation for Foreign Policy Affairs, and Maria Lvova-Belova, Commissioner to the President of the Russian Federation for Children’s Rights.

Zuppi last year also traveled to Washington D.C. from July 17-19, where he met with United States President Joe Biden, delivering a letter from Pope Francis, and he later traveled to Beijing from Sept. 13-15, 2023, meeting with Li Hui, China’s Special Representative for Eurasian Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The main purpose of Zuppi’s visit to Moscow this week is to continue efforts to return Ukrainian children deported to Russia and to negotiate prisoner exchanges.

Olena Kondratiuk, vice president of Ukrainian parliament, in recent weeks announced that she had met with Zuppi to discuss his mission to Ukraine, and that numerous children had been returned home thanks to his efforts.

To this end, she thanked Zuppi and lauded what she said were the concrete results of the Holy See’s “humanitarian diplomacy,” including the release of two Redemptorist priests who were arrested by Russian forces in November 2022.

They were released by Russia in a prisoner exchange with Ukraine on June 29, a move Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy credited the Holy See with achieving.

Vatican Secretary of State Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who visited Ukraine over the summer, last month had a video conference with Tatiana Moskalkova, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Russian Federation, during which he reiterated the need to ensure fundamental human rights enshrined in various international conventions amid the ongoing war.

Zuppi’s visit to Moscow this week comes after Pope Francis on Friday met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Vatican, marking the fourth meeting between the two, and the third since the war in Ukraine broke out following Russia’s invasion in February 2022.

Zelenskyy in an Oct. 11 post about his meeting with the pope on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, said that for Ukrainians, “the issue of captured and deported people remains incredibly painful.”

“These are adults and children, many civilians who are now held in prisons and camps in Russia,” he said, referring to reports that a well-known Ukrainian journalist appears to have died in Russian captivity, marking a “heavy blow” to Ukrainians.

Many other public figures and community leaders, as well as countless ordinary citizens from occupied territories remain in captivity, he said, saying “the issue of bringing our people home from captivity was the main focus of my meeting with Pope Francis.”

“We are counting on the Holy See’s assistance in helping to bring back Ukrainians who have been taken captive by Russia,” he said.

In a separate post, Zelenskyy noted that he also met with Parolin and with the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, British Archbishop Paul Gallagher.

“We discussed the implementation of the Peace Formula, with a particular focus on the point regarding the return of deported children and the release of civilian hostages and prisoners of war,” he said, saying they also discussed preparations for an upcoming conference on the Ukrainian Peace Formula set to take place in Canada from Oct. 30-31.

Zelenskyy said they also discussed Parolin’s recent visit to Ukraine, and he voiced confidence that “this will help unite international efforts in the process of restoring Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

Pope Francis, who has periodically come under fire from Ukrainians for questioning the morality of the continued supply of weapons to Ukraine, for suggesting that Russia had legitimate security concerns in the lead up to its invasion, and that Ukraine ought to raise a “white flag” to allow for negotiations, appeared to change his tone.

In his own Oct. 11 post on X, Francis said, “All nations have the right to exist in peace and security. Their territories must not be attacked, and their sovereignty must be respected and guaranteed through peace and dialogue. War and hatred bring only death and destruction for everyone.”

After a meeting between Francis and Zelenskyy last May, Ukraine’s leader appeared to criticize the Vatican’s efforts to negotiate peace, saying at the time that Ukraine didn’t need a mediator, and that any peace agreement reached must be on Ukraine’s terms, as it was their territory that had been invaded.

The apparent shift in the pope’s tone could signal a new willingness to appease on the part of the Holy See in order to maintain their seat at the table.

Bruni in his statement did not indicate when Zuppi would return from Moscow, or whether he is expected to also make other trips as part of his peacemaking efforts.

Follow Elise Ann Allen on X: @eliseannallen