There was no sign, he said, of Russia being willing to negotiate an end to the fighting but he added: "Every war ends at the negotiating tab

There was no sign, he said, of Russia being willing to negotiate an end to the fighting but he added: "Every war ends at the negotiating table... But my goal as a foreign minister is to make sure that Ukraine reaches the table after a defining success on the battlefield."

And that involves building the strongest possible coalition of support, an alliance that he feels does not include the Pope. Mr Kuleba said it was not for him but for God to judge the Holy Father but, he said: "We deeply regret that the Pope has not found an opportunity to visit Ukraine since the beginning of the war." tiger789

China, too, has thus far resisted Ukraine's lobbying for a meeting between China's President Xi Jinping and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, even though Beijing confirmed on Friday that China's leader is to visit Moscow next week.

Mr Kuleba said his president was ready for a telephone conversation with Mr Xi and added: "I don't think China has reached the moment now… when it's ready to arm Russia."