For an Immediate Cease Fire in the Ukraine. For A Europe Free of Nuclear Weapons

The following statement has been issued by the DIALOP Transversal Dialogue Project, a joint project between universities, foundations, and associations, developed by faculty members with different ideological and philosophical, Marxist or Christian backgrounds.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is no doubt in flagrant violation of the UN Charter and international law. Russia’s differences with and about Ukraine should certainly have been worked out through negotiations backed by the UN Security Council, with the security interests of all countries respected.

Now, the grim realities of the ongoing battle should push both sides to the negotiating table as soon as possible to avoid the prolongation of the war and the immense increase of the number of victims and to reach a peace with justice.

Therefore, we demand and immediate cease fire to save lives and to initiate a process which leads to a positive peace. Moreover, the war in Ukraine and the nuclear arsenals present in the region clearly demonstrate how dangerous wars are in the contemporary world, because they can very easily escalate into nuclear war. In the current world situation "the ultimate goal of the total elimination of nuclear weapons becomes both a challenge and a moral and humanitarian imperative", as Pope Francis emphasized in his encyclical letter Fratelli Tutti.

The signing and ratification of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which entered into force in 2021 and now has 87 member states, was an important first step toward a nuclear-weapon-free world. This treaty also opens thepossibility of restarting the debate on the creation of nuclear-
weapon-free zones in Europe which could become a crucial element of a new European security architecture. We call all governments to ratify this international agreement and assume the commitment of totally refusing the possession and/or use of nuclear weapons.

DIALOP is itself an exercise of continuous dialogue between different cultures. What was allegedly impossible, became a practice with positive results. Based on this, we call all the relevant actors in this war (governments, civil society organizations, churches, etc.) to commit themselves with concrete initiatives of encounter and dialogue as the only way to transform war into a peaceful political process.

For further information, see the DIALOP website.