Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican's foreign minister, met with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Moscow on Aug. 25. The visit marks the first face-to-face talks between Moscow and the Vatican since Russia launched its full-scale war in Ukraine in 2022. Following the talks, Gallagher and Lavrov held a joint news conference, where the Vatican representative called for an end to the war and acknowledged "substantial differences" between Moscow and the Holy See.Gallagher said that each day the war continues "creates new victims" and makes future reconciliation bewteen Kyiv and Moscow increasingly difficult.The diplomats discussed possible paths toward peace and agreed to cooperate on humanitarian issues, including assistance for children affected by the war, Gallagher said.Lavrov said they held a "productive conversation" and thanked the Vatican for its "balanced position" regarding Ukraine. His remarks repeated Kremlin talking points about the "root causes" of the war in Ukraine, Moscow's standing excuse for refusing to accept a ceasefire.Ahead of his visit to Moscow, Gallagher traveled to Ukraine in July, where he visited the site of a Russian missile strike in Kyiv that killed more than 20 people, including children. He also met with Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, who thanked the Vatican for its "solidarity with the Ukrainian people, humanitarian assistance, and consistent support for peace."The envoy's visit to Russia is scheduled to continue through Aug. 28. Gallagher is set to meet Yuri Ushakov, Russian President Vladimir Putin's foreign policy adviser, on Aug. 26.The Vatican has played a mediating role in efforts to return Ukrainian children forcibly deported by Russia. The issue has featured in previous talks between Pope Leo XIV and President Volodymyr Zelensky.Pope Leo has also offered the Vatican as a venue for peace talks between Ukraine and Russia. Lavrov rejected the proposal in May, arguing that the Catholic seat would be an inappropriate venue for negotiations between two predominantly Orthodox countries.Since becoming pope, Leo has repeatedly called for a "just and lasting peace" in Ukraine.Before his election to the papacy, he denounced Russia's full-scale invasion as "imperialist in nature," saying Moscow was seeking to conquer Ukrainian territory for power.