{"id":24944,"date":"2022-05-04T11:32:25","date_gmt":"2022-05-04T01:32:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unshackledminds.com\/?p=24944"},"modified":"2022-05-04T11:32:27","modified_gmt":"2022-05-04T01:32:27","slug":"pope-admits-nato-likely-provoked-putins-invasion-barking-at-the-gates-of-russia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unshackledminds.com\/pope-admits-nato-likely-provoked-putins-invasion-barking-at-the-gates-of-russia\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope Admits NATO Likely Provoked Putin’s Invasion: “Barking At The Gates Of Russia”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ZeroHedge<\/a> | by Tyler Durden Wednesday, May 04, 2022 – 01:45 AM<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pope Francis has said that he’s ready to meet President Vladimir Putin in Moscow in hopes of brokering an end to the war in Ukraine, according to the Vatican news agencies.\u00a0He said in an\u00a0interview\u00a0published Tuesday by the Italian daily Corriere della Sera<\/em><\/a>, “I am not going to Kyiv for now; I feel that I must not go. First I must go to Moscow. First I must meet Putin<\/strong>. But I am also a priest, what can I do? I do what I can. If Putin would only open the door<\/strong>…”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Roman Catholic leader’s criticisms of Russia’s actions in Ukraine were made clear throughout the interview, but among the more interesting and surprising lines came when he addressed the roots of the invasion and war which started on Feb.24. He\u00a0told the newspaper<\/a> that “the barking of NATO at the gates of Russia”<\/strong>\u00a0is likely what motivated Putin to attack Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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During a Wednesday audience last month the Pope kissed a Ukrainian flag presented by refugees. Getty Images<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Below is the relevant section of the interview, according to a machine translation from the Italian<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pope Francis’ concern is that Putin, for the moment, will not stop . He also tries to think about the roots of this behavior, about the reasons that push him to such a brutal war. Perhaps the “barking of NATO at Russia’s door” prompted the head of the Kremlin to react badly and unleash the conflict. “I can\u2019t say if it was provoked, but perhaps, yes.”<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Also interesting is that Francis came close to condemning the international weapons transfers<\/strong> now pouring into Ukraine, led by the US which has lately authorized an unprecedented billions in military aid to Ukraine’s government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“And now those who care about peace are faced with the great question of the supply of weapons by Western nations to the Ukrainian resistance,” the Pope began with his thoughts on this question. He admitted the question is controversial even within the Catholic world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I can’t answer, I’m too far away, to the question of whether it is right to supply the Ukrainians,” he said, before taking a swipe at the weapons industry. “The clear thing is that weapons are being tested in that land. The Russians now know that tanks are of little use and are thinking of other things. Wars are fought for this: to test the weapons we have produced<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This was the case in the Spanish Civil War before the Second World War. The arms trade is a scandal, few oppose it<\/strong>.” He then invoked the case of the years’-long Saudi-US war on Yemen, describing that “Two or three years ago a ship loaded with weapons arrived in Genoa which had to be transferred to a large freighter to transport them to Yemen. The port workers did not want to do it. They said: let’s think of the children of Yemen. It’s a small thing, but a nice gesture. There should be so many like that.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pope Francis’ words have already provoked an angry reaction among some American Catholic clerics…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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First China and now Russia. @Pontifex<\/a> is good on some issues but dreadful on others. We must work for peace but this doesn't preclude naming culprits. Expect the usual "explanations" and the "what he really meant" nonsense. https:\/\/t.co\/iJo2W1PX2P<\/a><\/p>— Reverend Michael Coren (@michaelcoren) May 3, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote>