Kathmandu,

July 5,

Pope Francis hopes to visit Russia and Ukraine after returning from Canada later in the month, as he himself said in an interview with Reuters.

He said he was still scheduled to travel to Canada on July 24-30 and said he hoped to visit Russia and Ukraine sometime thereafter.

Following the remarks, Ukraine renewed its invitation for Francis to visit Ukraine and urged the pontiff to continue praying for the Ukrainian people.

"It is time to deepen connections with those who sincerely desire it,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleh Nikolenko said.

“We renew the invitation to Pope Francis to visit our country and urge you to continue praying for the Ukrainian people.”