US President Donald Trump has supported the idea of involving Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem in mediation efforts between Russia and Ukraine. This was reported by the Israeli publication Ynet, citing sources familiar with the content of the meeting between Trump and the Patriarch at the White House.

The report was carried by a radio Svoboda outlet citing Ynet. The meeting took place on 4 June at the White House and lasted approximately 40 minutes. During the conversation, the possibility of creating an additional channel of communication between Moscow and Kyiv was discussed. Sources claim that Trump agreed with the proposal to consider Theophilos III as a mediator.

According to Ynet, the Patriarch may meet with Vladimir Putin at the end of June. Sources interviewed by the publication note that his main advantage is his status as a “non-political figure who enjoys religious and moral trust.”

The Jerusalem Patriarchate states that Theophilos III should be regarded primarily as a peacemaker rather than a political actor. No official confirmation of the Patriarch’s possible mediating role has yet been issued by the United States, Russia, or Ukraine.

Theophilos III has led the Jerusalem Orthodox Church since 2005. In 2013, he met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi, and in 2019 in the Kremlin. In November 2025, Putin awarded the Patriarch the Order of Friendship “for his significant contribution to strengthening friendship, cooperation, and spiritual ties with the Russian Federation.”

The Patriarch has also maintained contacts with the Russian Orthodox Church and initiated a meeting of the primates of the Orthodox Churches in Jordan in 2020. In 2024, he criticised the decision of the Ukrainian authorities to restrict the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church affiliated with the Moscow Patriarchate.

At the same time, several Ukrainian media outlets reported, citing the Embassy of Ukraine in Israel, that Ukraine would never accept such a choice. They stated that involving Patriarch Theophilos would be equivalent to involving pro-Russian lobbyists such as Gerhard Schröder or Karin Kneissl. According to this assessment, Patriarch Theophilos is effectively on Russia’s side, and his participation would therefore be unacceptable.