Italy supports President Donald Trump's proposal that the Vatican may mediate negotiations for a ceasefire in Ukraine, and he seems keen to take a step back.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's office said Italy is ready to "promote contact and efforts with peace" in Ukraine and "look positively" what it says is the pope's willingness to hold talks in the Vatican.

In fact, no firm agreement has been reached on further discussions: The meeting of Russian and Ukrainian officials in Istanbul last Friday put forward additional demands from Moscow, rather than progress.

The Pope Leo said last week that the Vatican was “already ready” to bring enemies together and that he would “do his best” to gain the upper hand for peace.

But, the Holy See said the host even mediated the idea of ​​the conversation – something Trump suggested was an option – now more promising than any specific plan.

If direct participation does continue, Ukraine seems to be open to the concept of the Vatican as a host.

Volodymyr Zelensky posted on X on Tuesday that he spoke with Giorgia Meloni, which included "a possible platform for talks with the Russians".

He said the Italian prime minister "has been cool as always," although he also used Türkiye and Switzerland as alternatives.

The Kremlin may prefer to stay in Türkiye. It talks about a process called the "Istanbulgars" that shapes any conversation into any conversation that was discussed in Türkiye shortly after the full invasion.

These terms include Ukraine greatly reduced its own army, which would represent Kiev's current surrender.

But Russia added more: the "add" part means that it has recognized that it annexed four parts of the occupied Ukraine and Crimea.

The actual venue has nothing to do with the Kremlin: what it wants is a discussion based on Vladimir Putin's terms.

Frankly, the prospect of meaningful progress looks slim.

But can the Vatican give some extra moral authority, driven by some kind of compromise?

The Catholic Church will help mediate the conflict history, it has participated in talks with free prisoners and returned to Russian kidnapped Ukrainian children.

Its true opinion is not clear, though, because others have played the same role.

On the other hand, the Vatican (especially any involvement of the new pope) will bring a different tone to the lawsuit.

Its quiet style cannot be further compared to Donald Trump's capitalized social media posts and his brutal public showdown with Zelensky in the Oval Office. And the environment seems to have done miracles for men's relationships.

It was at the funeral of Pope Francis that they were directly closed in the depths of the conversation inside St. Peter's Basilica.

The Vatican takes pride in its diplomacy: This is why when others began bombing Ukraine, when others were intermittent with Moscow, the Catholic Church sent a Cardinal envoy to talk to the Kremlin. It has no effect.

Like Donald Trump, Pope Francis always avoids publicly identifying Russia as an invader. Vatican sources said it was to get conversations with Ajar, even if it seemed hopeless.

However, Francis implied that Russia was "inspired" by NATO, which made the Ukrainians even more frustrated. He then agreed that it might be wise to "raise the white flag" and surrender.

For Kyiv, Pope Leo may be the best potential peace agent. He recorded charges of condemning Russian invasion as an imperialist war and condemning human crimes committed by Putin's troops.

If the Vatican had hosted a speech, it would be unlikely to frustrate the Kremlin.

Tatiana Stanovaya from Carnegie Russia's Eurasian Center said: "Putin can explain his position on the Pope. In his opinion, Ukraine is not serious about peace negotiations."

"I don't believe that the pope will affect Putin's understanding in any way."

At this point, Russia has no pressure on any major pressure: All the topics of Donald Trump's stubborn punishment of Putin have become a discussion of trade with Russia. Provide incentives, not threatening sanctions.

Indeed, Moscow wants more.

"They want Zelensky to be removed and the United States and the EU to stop military aid, but from a Russian perspective, the United States has been standing in Ukraine."

So Russia is ready to play a long game - this does not involve compromise.

"If the pope can help Ukraine put pressure, Putin will not have any problems (with his involvement)," she said.

This seems to be the real problem here. It runs much deeper than the two sides eat between assumed fresh conversations.