ウクライナ首相、ローマ教皇と面会　子ども連れ去りで支援要請

【ローマＡＦＰ＝時事】ウクライナのデニス・シュミハリ首相は２７日、バチカン市内でローマ・カトリック教会のフランシスコ教皇に面会した。シュミハリ氏は教皇をウクライナに招待するとともに、ロシアに連れ去られた子どもの帰還支援を要請した。（写真はローマ教皇〈右〉と面会するウクライナのデニス・シュミハリ首相。バチカンメディア提供。）
　シュミハリ氏は面会後、伊ローマの外国人特派員協会で記者会見し、ウォロディミル・ゼレンスキー大統領が示した和平案について議論したことも明らかにした。
　それに関連し、「主にロシアへ連れ去られた、孤児を含むウクライナの子どもの帰還」に向け、バチカンとローマ教皇に支援を求めたと述べた。
　ウクライナ政府によると、２０２２年２月の侵攻開始以降、ウクライナの子ども１万６０００人以上がロシアに連れ去られた。その多くが施設に入れられたり、里親に引き取られたりしたとされる。
　ロシアはこれを否定し、戦闘地域の子どもを保護しただけだと主張している。
　今年３月には、国際刑事裁判所が、ウクライナの子どもを連れ去った戦争犯罪の疑いで、ウラジーミル・プーチン大統領に逮捕状を出した。
　一方、ウクライナ政府は、ウクライナ人の抵抗の象徴となった陶製のオンドリの置物と、キーウ近郊ブチャなどでのロシア軍による残虐行為を記録した写真集をシュミハリ氏が教皇に贈ったとしている。
　シュミハリ氏は２６日には、イタリアのジョルジャ・メローニ首相と会談した。 【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2023/04/28-17:10）

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on Thursday invited Pope Francis to visit his country, during a meeting at the Vatican, where he also asked for help to return children forcibly taken to Russia.
I invited His Holiness to visit Ukraine in person, Shmyhal told reporters at the Foreign Press Association in Rome a few hours after the papal audience.
He said he had discussed with the 86-year-old pope the peace plan proposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to end the war sparked by Russia's invasion last year.
This included discussing in a little more detail the different steps the Vatican could take to help Kyiv achieve its goals, the prime minister said, speaking through an Italian translator.
For example, I asked for the participation, the assistance from the Vatican, from His Holiness, for the return to Ukraine of children, some of whom were orphaned, who were taken away by force, mainly to Russia.
More than 16,000 Ukrainian children have been deported to Russia since the February 2022 invasion, according to Kyiv, with many allegedly placed in institutions and foster homes.
Russia denies the allegations, saying instead it has saved Ukrainian children from the horrors of the war.
In March, the International Criminal Court in The Hague announced an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war crime accusation of unlawfully deporting Ukrainian children.
Shmyhal also met two of the pope's top officials at the Vatican, Secretary of State Pietro Parolin and the de facto foreign minister, Paul Gallagher.
During the cordial discussions, which took place in the Secretariat of State, various matters connected to the war in Ukraine were highlighted, with particular attention to the humanitarian aspects and efforts to restore peace, a Vatican statement said.
In the same context, several issues regarding the life and activity of the Church in the country were raised.
Francis has repeatedly called for peace in Ukraine, although the Vatican's attempts to mediate in the conflict have yet to yield any results.
The Ukrainian government said that during his visit Shmyhal gave the pope a ceramic rooster that has become a symbol of the Ukrainian resistance during the war, and a photography book of atrocities allegedly committed by Russia in various Ukrainian cities, including Bucha.
Shmyhal was in Rome for a conference Wednesday on how Italian businesses could help with the reconstruction of Ukraine, when he also met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.