Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that Moscow views Pope Francis’ comments on the war in Ukraineas a plea for negotiation.

Peskov said that Russian leader Vladimir Putin has expressed willingness to negotiate with Ukraine, adding that it was the “preferred path.”

On Saturday, Swiss broadcaster RSI published comments from an interview with Francis from early February, during which the pontiff said the strongest actor was the one that “thinks about the people and has the courage of the white flag, and negotiates.”

A Vatican spokesman quickly responded on Saturday that the pope meant “cease-fire and negotiation” and not surrender when he said white flag.

However, the comments quickly drew heavy criticism from Ukraine and its allies. In February 2022, Russia launched an unprovoked invasion of neighboring Ukraine, in what Moscow has called a “special military operation.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy angrily rejected the call for negotiations, and questioned why the church was attempting to “mediate virtually between someone who wants to live and someone who wants to destroy you.”

Bernhard Kotsch, Germany’s envoy to the Vatican, said,   “Russia is the aggressor and breaks international law … therefore Germany asks Moscow to stop the war, not Kyiv.”

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg told Reuters news agency in Brussels on Monday when asked about the pope’s remarks that “if we want a negotiated peaceful lasting solution, the way to get there is to provide military support to Ukraine.”