Zelenskyy meets Pope Leo to discuss war, prisoners, return of children
Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy has met with Pope Leo this morning as planned (9:57), with the pair discussing the war in Ukraine, according to the Vatican readout.
Pope Leo “reiterated the need for the continuation of dialogue and expressed his urgent desire that the current diplomatic initiatives bring about a just and lasting peace,” the statement read.
The two leaders also discussed “the questions of prisoners of war and the need to assure the return of Ukrainian children to their families,” it added.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen also congratulated Babiš on his appointment, but didn’t waste any time in reminding him of responsibility facing Europe as it enters key discussions on its security (ekhm, ekhm, on Ukraine).
“Congratulations @AndrejBabis on your appointment as Prime Minister of the Czech Republic.
The EU faces mounting challenges.
Your country has an important role to play in advancing our European agenda of prosperity and security.
Looking forward to working with you, starting with the upcoming European Council.”
It essentially reads as “please don’t do anything silly at your first council next week, we have enough going on.”
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The outgoing Czech prime minister, Petr Fiala, has posted his congratulations for his successor on social media, saying that the PM’s residence, Hrzánský palác, is fully “at his and his team’s disposal” even before the formal appointment of the entire governent.
“We will ensure that the handover of government proceeds entirely smoothly,” he said.
Centre-right Fiala’s ODS party came second in the October election, with 23% of the vote.
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On Babiš’s conflict of interest I mentioned earlier, he said last week he would shift his main asset Agrofert, a group of over 200 companies in chemicals, food, farming and other businesses, to a trust structure to resolve a conflict of interest he would have in office, Reuters explained.
The key reason it was considered a conflict of interest is because as the Czech PM he would be involved in discussions on EU regulations, subsidies and potential taxes, all with direct consequences for his companies.
Reuters noted that his firms have received public contracts, and investment incentives worth tens of millions of euros – such as tax relief – from the Czech, Slovak and Hungarian governments.
The new setup involved an irrevocable blind trust, managed independently by an external company. His family will only be able to regain the control of the trust after his death.
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Zelenskyy to meet with Pope Leo, Italy's Meloni as peace talks continue
in Rome
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is in Italy today, and will meet Pope Leo at the papal residence in Castel Gandolfo, close to Rome, around now before returning to the Italian capital in the afternoon for a meeting with the prime minister, Giorgia Meloni.
It will be the second time that Zelenskyy has met Leo, elected pontiff in May, since July.
That meeting, during which they discussed the return of forcibly deported Ukrainian children and the need to pursue peace through dialogue, also took place in Castel Gandolfo, where Leo retreats once a week.
After Zelenskyy met British, French and German leaders in London on Monday, Meloni – who has nurtured good relations with the US president, Donald Trump – reiterated the “importance of a unity of views between European partners and the United States for achieving a just and lasting peace in Ukraine”.
Meloni will meet Zelenskyy at her office in Palazzo Chigi at 3pm CET.
Pope Leo last week stressed the importance of Europe’s involvement in US efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, while suggesting that Italy specifically could play the role of mediator.
“Specifically, I think Italy’s role could be very important. Culturally and historically, Italy has the capacity to act as an intermediary in the midst of a conflict that exists between different parties: Ukraine, Russia the United States.”
Soon after being elected pope, he said the Vatican could act as a mediator in resolving global conflicts. He has also expressed his willingness for the Holy See to host talks in the Vatican to try to end the war.
“But the Holy See does not have a direct involvement, because we are not members of Nato nor of any of the talks so far, and even though many times we have called for a ceasefire, for dialogue and not war,” he said last week.
“And it is now a war with many aspects: with the increase in arms, all the armaments production going on, cyber-attacks, energy. Now that winter is coming there is a serious problem there.”
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Morning opening: Welcome back Mr Babiš
Controversial billionaire Andrej Babiš has been appointed the next Czech prime minister, days after proposing a plan to resolve his conflict of interest as major shareholder of agriculture giant Agrofert.
More than two months on from the parliamentary election in early October, and a prolonged standoff with the president, Petr Pavel, over his potential conflict of interest, Babiš has finally been designated as the new, 14th Czech PM at a ceremony this morning.
With his personal fortune estimated at over $4bn, Babiš is among the 10 richest Czechs, with wealth rivalling the US president, Donald Trump (believed to hold just over $5bn), of whom he is a fan, with elements of his campaign replicating that of Trump (including red baseball caps and ‘Czech Republic first’ slogan). At 71, he is also the oldest prime minister the Czech Republic has ever had.
The full cabinet appointment is expected later this month.
His coalition government will see Babiš’s ANO party team up with two fringe parties, Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD), an anti-immigration party that won 7.9% of the vote, and a rightwing group called the Motorists, which received 6.8%.
Babiš is an ally of Hungary’s Viktor Orbán in the Patriots for Europe group in the European parliament and has taken an ambivalent line on aid to Ukraine – a departure from his predecessor Petr Fiala’s government, which quickly took a firm stance to support Kyiv after Russia’s invasion in 2022.
His return to frontline politics comes at a particularly tense moment as Europe keeps discussing its plans to support Ukraine, including through a controversial proposal to use frozen Russian assets for a reparations loan for Kyiv.
Babiš has pledged to cut military aid to Ukraine from the national budget and has said the new government may end the Czech-run ammunition initiative which procures large-calibre ammunition for Ukraine from around the world, Reuters noted.
All of this matters as we keep an eye on the latest on the peace talks, with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy continuing his meetings in Europe. He will be in Rome and the Vatican today.
I will bring you all the key updates throughout the day.
It’s Tuesday, 9 December 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
