In a brief press conference on his two-hour flight from Istanbul to Beirut on the afternoon of Nov. 30, Pope Leo emphasized the need for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the possibility of a truce to end the war in Ukraine. 

The pope, who just concluded a three-day visit to Turkey, responded to questions from two Turkish journalists: One asked about Turkey’s role in peacemaking and the actions of Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on behalf of world and regional peace. A second asked whether he had talked with President Erdoğan about the situation in Gaza and the proposal of the Holy See of two states for two peoples, and about his hopes for a truce in Ukraine and a faster peace process in Gaza.

Pope Leo responded in English: “Certainly we talked about the two situations. The Holy See for many years has publicly supported the proposal for the solution of two states. We all know that at this moment, Israel does not accept the solution of two states, but we see it as the only [option] that could offer a solution.”

“We are also friends of Israel and we try with the two sides to be—let’s say—a mediating voice that can help them come closer to a solution with justice for all,” he continued. “We spoke about this also with President Erdoğan and he is certainly in agreement with this proposal. Turkey has an important role that it could play in this.”

The pope also noted Turkey’s role in navigating a peace process for Ukraine, where, he said, “President [Erdoğan] helped a lot to convene both sides” in recent months. “Unfortunately, we’ve not yet seen a solution, but today there are concrete proposals for peace, and we hope that President Erdoğan, with his relationship with the presidents of Ukraine, Russia and the United States, can help in this sense to promote dialogue [and] a ceasefire, and see how to resolve this conflict.”

Regarding Turkey’s role in maintaining world and regional peace, the pope responded: “To have come to Turkey and of course now to Lebanon on this trip, there is a special theme of being a messenger of peace” and “of wanting to promote peace throughout the region.” Turkey, he said “has a number of qualities: it is a country [where] the vast majority [of the population] is Muslim, and yet [there is also] the presence of numerous Christian communities there, although [they are] a very small minority. And yet people of different religions are able to live in peace.” 

That coexistence “is one example of what we would all be looking for throughout the world,” he said, that “in spite of religious [differences], in spite of ethnic differences, in spite of many other differences, people can indeed live in peace.” He recalled that “Turkey itself has had over its history various moments when it was not always the case,” and yet, “to have experienced that [peace on this visit] and to have also been able to speak to President Erdoğan about peace, I think was one important element.” 

Pope Leo began the brief encounter with the press by speaking about his three-day visit to Turkey, calling it “ a wonderful experience.” He recalled that “the primary reason for coming to Turkey was the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, and we had that magnificent celebration, very simple and yet very profound, on the site of one of the ancient basilicas of Nicaea to commemorate the great event of the agreement of the whole Christian community on the profession of faith, the Nicene Creed.” 

The pope, who is making his first foreign trip, expressed his thanks “for all the work that went into planning the visit.” He mentioned the papal nuncio in Turkey, the staff and the whole team from Rome that organized the visit and, “in a very special way, the government of Turkey, President Erdoğan and so many people that he put at [our] disposition in order to make sure that this trip would be a total success.” 

Pope Leo expressed his happiness at “the different moments we had, in the different churches, with different Christian communities” and with the Orthodox Churches, “culminating this morning with the Divine Liturgy with Patriarch Bartholomew. It was a wonderful celebration and I hope that all of you shared that same experience.”

At the end of the brief, informal press conference, Pope Leo recalled the commemoration of the Council of Nicaea at Iznik on Friday and the meeting with the leaders of the other Christian denominations on Saturday morning, expressing his hope for future ecumenical meetings. One such possibility, he said, would be the commemoration of the 2,000th anniversary of  the resurrection of Jesus Christ in 2033, “an event that all Christians want to celebrate.” 

He said the idea has been accepted, presumably at that Saturday meeting, “but we have not yet made an invitation.” One possibility, he said, would be “to celebrate in Jerusalem this great event of the resurrection [of Jesus Christ]. There are still years to prepare for that.”