The Vatican has said that "the first condition" for peace is that Russia "put an end to its aggression" after comments by Pope Francis that Ukraine should "show the courage of the white flag" were met with criticism by Kyiv and its allies. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's secretary of state and the pontiff's closest collaborator, made the statement in an interview with Corriere della Sera daily on March 11. "The Holy See pursues this line and continues to ask for a 'cease-fire' -- and the aggressors should be the ones who cease fire," Parolin said.
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