Trump suggests Pope Leo XIV host Ukraine-Russia talks in the Vatican

State of play: Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who met the pope on Monday along with Vice President JD Vance, said on Saturday that the Vatican was "a place that both sides would be comfortable going," though he downplayed the idea that the pope would be a "broker."

• Pope Leo vowed last week to make "every effort" to help end the war in Ukraine and conflicts elsewhere around the world.
• The Vatican had previously offered to help facilitate talks under Pope Francis, but no peace talks took place for three years prior to talks on Friday in Istanbul that ended without a major breakthrough.
• After Monday's call with Putin, Trump said Russia and Ukraine would "immediately start negotiations toward a ceasefire," but that he would not directly take part as the mediator, as he had previously proposed.

What he's saying: "The Vatican, as represented by the Pope, has stated it would be very interested in hosting the negotiations. Let the process begin!"

Flashback: In a 2022 interview, before his rapid rise to cardinal and then pope, Leo (born Robert Prevost) criticized Russia's "imperialist" invasion of Ukraine.