Russia does not see the Vatican as a serious venue for peace talks with Ukraine because the Holy See is the seat of Catholicism and is surrounded by Italy, a member of NATO and the European Union (EU), three senior Russian sources told Reuters.
They also point out that many Russian officials cannot even fly there due to Western restrictions.
The Vatican has so far remained publicly silent on the idea, floated by US President Donald Trump after a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, that Pope Leo XIV could host talks aimed at ending Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said last week that Pope Leo XIV, the first U.S.-born pontiff, confirmed his willingness to host the talks during a phone call with her.
"The Vatican is definitely not seen in Russia as a serious force capable of resolving such a complex conflict," said a senior Russian source familiar with the Kremlin's thinking at the highest level, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, Reuters reported.
Among the reasons cited by the three sources is the fact that both Russia and Ukraine are predominantly Orthodox countries, while the Vatican is surrounded by NATO member Italy, which has supported Ukraine and repeatedly sanctioned Russia.
The Kremlin and the Vatican did not respond to requests for comment, according to Reuters.
When asked last week about the Vatican idea, the Kremlin only said that no decision had been made yet.
Russian sources pointed out that it would be very difficult for most senior Russian officials to even reach the Vatican from Moscow because direct flights were canceled after the start of the war on February 24, 2022, and there are also countless EU sanctions on Russian officials.
Reuters also reports that one of the Russian officials sarcastically said that the only place better than the Vatican would be The Hague - the seat of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has issued a warrant for Putin's arrest on war crimes charges.
The Kremlin says the ICC arrest warrant is an outrageously biased decision, but it makes no sense to Russia, which is not a signatory to the court. Russian officials deny war crimes in Ukraine.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that the idea of the Vatican as a potential arena for peace talks was "a bit inelegant" given that Russia and Ukraine are Orthodox countries.
The Russian Orthodox Church is by far the largest church in the Eastern Orthodox community, which split from Western Christianity in the Great Schism of 1054, according to Reuters.
According to the Kiev International Institute of Sociology, the vast majority of Ukrainians identify as followers of Eastern Christian Orthodoxy, although support for the non-Russian Orthodox Church of Ukraine has increased since the start of the war in 2022.
Russian sources say they see Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman as potentially suitable venues for talks.
Putin has repeatedly praised the Gulf Arab states and Turkey for their attempts to mediate an end to the war.
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