VATICAN CITY: Ursula von der Leyen, the chairperson of the European Commission, met with Pope Francis on Friday to discuss efforts to stop the conflict in Ukraine and alleviate the worldwide food crisis it has aggravated.

Von der Leyen remarked in a tweet after the 20-minute audience: "We stand with those in Ukraine who are suffering as a result of the catastrophe. This war must come to an end, restoring peace to Europe." Von der Leyen also met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's secretary of state, and Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the country's foreign minister, who had just returned from Ukraine.

Their discussions, according to the Vatican, focused on a "shared determination to try to bring the crisis in Ukraine to an end, paying special emphasis to the humanitarian aspects and the food effects of the conflict's persistence."

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