MOSCOW, June 4 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked Pope Leo for offering to help settle the Ukraine conflict and told him Kyiv is intent on "escalating" the war, the Kremlin said on Wednesday.
A Kremlin statement said they spoke by phone but did not give a date. President Donald Trump has said the pope offered to host Russia-Ukraine negotiations at the Vatican.
"Gratitude was expressed to the Pontiff for his readiness to help settle the crisis, in particular the Vatican's participation in resolving difficult humanitarian issues on a depoliticised basis," the statement said.
Putin highlighted "that the Kyiv regime is banking on escalating the conflict and is carrying out sabotage against civilian infrastructure sites on Russian territory," the statement said, describing those acts as terrorism.
The Kremlin restated that the conflict's "root causes" must be addressed, a reference to Russian demands that Ukraine adopt a neutral status and NATO rule out eastward expansion.
