Overview

• After a private audience in Rome, Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the pope and the Vatican remain rare actors with sway over conflict parties and should keep offering to mediate.
• Steinmeier said Leo XIV shares the assessment that Russia currently shows no willingness to enter talks on the war in Ukraine.
• The German president extended an invitation for Leo XIV to visit Germany during their first meeting since the pope’s election in May.
• Steinmeier planned visits to WFP, FAO and IFAD in Rome and criticized cuts to international aid, calling for calmer trade relations to help unlock funding.
• The visit followed Leo XIV’s recent interview asserting the Church will not adopt democratic governance and stating NATO did not start the Ukraine war, as German parties intensify scrutiny of state payments to churches.