“How can the Vatican have 'diplomatic' talks with the devil himself? It’s shameful,” judges an Internet user under the video of the meeting between Sergei Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher. This “Secretary for Relations with States” of the Vatican spoke for an hour with his Russian counterpart on August 25. At the same time, CIA Director John Ratcliffe secretly traveled to Moscow to discuss with the Russian authorities.
Bishop Paul Richard Gallagher's visit was longer and included several meetings spread over four days, including an interview with Vladimir Putin's diplomatic advisor, Yuri Ushakov. Bishop Paul Richard Gallagher's last official visit was in 2021, before the start of the large-scale invasion of Ukraine.
While the vast majority of Western countries have severed all official ties with Russia, the Holy See persists in communicating with everyone. “The Vatican plays a bridge diplomacy role. He considers that we must always maintain a dialogue with all countries, even those with which we do not agree,” analyzes Jean-Baptiste Noé, historian, editor-in-chief of the Conflits magazine and author of Geopolitics of the Vatican (Puf, 2015).
Historically, relations between the Vatican and Russia have always been tumultuous. In a country where the population is overwhelmingly Orthodox, Catholicism has not always been in the odor of Holiness. “At the time of the Tsars, Catholics were persecuted. Then, during the Soviet period, the persecution was reinforced,” explains Jean-Baptiste Noé.
No pope has ever been able to visit Russia, despite a warming of relations in the early 2000s. However, the mercury plummeted after the outbreak of the invasion in Ukraine. And the acquiescence of Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, with Kremlin policy has strained interreligious dialogue. The visit of Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher therefore took place in a stormy climate.
These difficulties do not prevent the Vatican from continuing to build its “bridges”, with great expertise. Despite its tiny size, the Holy See spreads its diplomatic arms around the world. In 2026, the city-state maintained relations with 184 states, in addition to the Order of Malta and the European Union. Only a handful of countries such as Afghanistan, North Korea or Bhutan do not maintain a formal diplomatic relationship with the Vatican.
“The Holy See invented modern diplomacy. It has existed since Pepin the Short [in the 8th century] and it was they who created the first school designed to train diplomats in the world, from the 17th century,” reports Jean-Baptiste Noé. The Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, founded in 1701 by Clement XI, aimed to train the nuncios, the papal ambassadors. The Vatican therefore has historical legitimacy, coupled with a long tradition of bridging between nations and always calling for peace. At the end of the meeting, the high representative of the Holy See called for “real negotiations” between kyiv and Moscow. “This war must end,” repeated Pope Leo XIV’s envoy.
“These are discussions that take time, but which can lead to very concrete things, such as agreements on prisoner exchanges which could become concrete a month or a month and a half later,” underlines Jean-Baptiste Noé. Since 2022, the Holy See has regularly intervened with Vladimir Putin's regime to succeed in repatriating children deported by the Russian regime or to organize prisoner exchanges.
