VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis and the prime minister of Japan, the only country to be hit by atomic bombs, met on Wednesday and discussed their common hope for a world free of nuclear weapons.

Francis and Fumio Kishida met for about half an hour in areceiving room of the Vatican’s audience hall just beforeFrancis held his general audience for thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square.

“They talked of nuclear weapons and how their use andpossession is inconceivable,” Vatican spokesman Matteo Brunisaid.

A separate Vatican statement said that in discussionsafterwards with top Vatican diplomats, particular attention was given to the war in Ukraine, “stressing the urgency of dialogue and peace and expressing the hope, to this end, for a world free of nuclear weapons”.

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Since Russia invaded its neighbour on Feb. 24, Francis hasseveral times spoken of a possible nuclear conflict resultingfrom the war.

The two met on the same day that Russia’s foreign ministryannounced sanctions against 63 Japanese officials, includingKishida, for engaging in what it called “unacceptable rhetoric”against Moscow.

In its readout of the meeting, the Japanese embassy to theVatican said in a statement that the pope and Kishida alsodiscussed North Korea’s firing of a ballistic missile toward thesea off its east coast on Wednesday and concern about thenorth’s nuclear potential.

During his visit to Japan in 2019, Francis visited Hiroshimaand Nagasaki, which in 1945 became the only cities ever to behit by atomic bombs, and appealed to world leaders to ensurethat nuclear weapons are never used again.

Francis backs a U.N. treaty aiming to ban nuclear weaponsand has said that even their possession for the purpose ofdeterrence is immoral.