Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said Monday (28) that the Holy See "is ready to facilitate negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.".

The Vatican's proposal was made a few hours before the first talks between the parties began Monday in Belarus.

"The Holy See, which in recent years has constantly, discreetly and with great attention followed the events in Ukraine, offering its readiness to facilitate dialogue with Russia, is always ready to help the parties to resume the path of dialogue," the Vatican's number two said in an interview granted to the Italian newspapers Il Corriere della Sera, La Repubblica, La Stampa and Il Messaggero.

The 67-year-old cardinal, a veteran diplomat, acknowledged that the spread of the conflict would be a "gigantic catastrophe," a "frightening scenario."

"We must avoid any escalation, stop the confrontations and negotiate," insisted Parolin, who has been in office since 2013.

"The possible return of a new cold war with two opposing blocs is also a worrying scenario. It goes against the culture of fraternity that Pope Francis proposes as the only way to build a just, solidary and peaceful world," he stressed, according to AIM.