Russia on Friday indicated that it views Pope Francis’ Ukraine peace initiative positively, but stressed that there are no immediate plans for a Vatican mission to Moscow.

The statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry to the state RIA Novosti agency was the first public acknowledgment by Moscow of the pope’s move. It followed the Vatican’s weekend announcement that a veteran of the Catholic Church’s peace mediation initiatives, Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, had been tapped by Francis as his envoy.

“We acknowledge the Holy See’s sincere desire to promote the peace process,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said, according to RIA Novosti. “At the same time, no practical steps have been taken by the Vatican side to organize the trip to Moscow.”

Zuppi told reporters Thursday that the scope of the mission was to “help ease the tensions of the conflict” in hopes it could contribute to “paths of peace.” He drew a parallel to his efforts in the 1990s, alongside the Rome-based Sant’Egidio Community, to help mediate peace talks that ended civil war in Mozambique.