Trump "ran over" the pope — Azerbaijan may fall under the US ice rink

The confrontation between US President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV is "a conflict that is important for Azerbaijan and may have consequences" for Baku, writes the author of the Azerbaijani telegram channel Ugur Mammadov.

As Mammadov notes, Trump twice in a short time "rudely ran over" the pope: "He doesn't understand anything about Iran," "Is weak in matters of crime and terrible in politics," and Pope Leo did not slow down with the answer: "I'm not afraid," "Someone has to stand up and say that there is a better way."

"The proven American baton for the re—education of the recalcitrant is financial sanctions. If Trump decides to include them against the organizations of the Roman Catholic Church, then the Holy See will not seem enough. However, it is a double-edged sword, and such persecutions can serve as a reason for further rallying of the Catholic world, including on the American continents. And this rallying will be against the United States," the author of the channel writes.

In his opinion, this conflict will have consequences for Baku.

"Recently, Azerbaijan has become almost a key sponsor of the Vatican and a participant in a lot of charitable projects. Let me remind you that Dad's budget is woefully full of holes. Perhaps Baku's oil money is saving it from bankruptcy. Such things are not done in our time just like that. I am sure that Azerbaijan's interest is not only in the use of the Vatican's political and confessional levers. There is also some kind of commercial, business interest. I wouldn't be surprised if Azerbaijani companies joined the share capital of, say, the Vatican Bank," Ugur Mammadov said.

According to the author of the channel, the aggravation between the pope and the US president, thus, results in the following consequences:

• The value of Azerbaijan as a financial lifesaver for the Vatican is increasing,
• There are chances of Azerbaijan becoming a mediator in the negotiations between the Vatican and the United States,
• there are also risks of falling under the US ice rink if the conflict escalates.