Pope Francis: Winds of war are blowing, pray for peaceful coexistence

Vatican, Dec 25: In his traditional Christmas message Pope Francis said that 'winds of war' are blowing around the world and called for two-state solution to resolve the crisis in Middle East.

"The winds of war are blowing in our world and an outdated model of development continues to produce human, societal and environmental decline," the pope said in his traditional "Urbi et Orbi" ("to the city and to the world") Christmas message and blessing from the central balcony overlooking St. Peter's Square.

As Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus, the pope depicted suffering reflected "in the faces of little children," citing war and other tensions in the Middle East and Africa.

He asked for peace for Jerusalem and the Holy Land, and prayed "that the will to resume dialogue may prevail between the parties and that a negotiated solution can finally be reached, one that would allow the peaceful coexistence of two states within mutually agreed and internationally recognized borders."

Francis also prayed for an end to confrontation on the Korean Peninsula and that "mutual trust may increase."