Leo XIV urged Argentine President Javier Milei to maintain Latin American unity as two of the region’s largest economies endure one of the most tense moments in their bilateral relationship.

“South America has, at difficult moments in its history, found ways to negotiate and reach understanding in order to overcome serious tensions,” Leo said Sunday evening alongside Milei in his first public remarks after his arrival in Buenos Aires. “Argentina is called to preserve this willingness to engage in dialogue and help it continue to bear fruit.”Milei has refused to acknowledge President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s upset victory last month in Brazil’s elections and helped his right-wing rival Flávio Bolsonaro flee to the US through Argentina. Brazilian authorities demanded Argentina’s top remaining envoy in the country explain Milei’s role in the departure as a result.

While Milei has built stronger ties with ideological allies in predominantly Catholic region, tension between Argentina and its largest trading partner has only increased since the Brazilian leftist pulled off a historic comeback to win a fourth term.

Leo, whose remarks were under heavy scrutiny for any criticism — veiled or outright — of Milei’s policies, stressed the need for empathy, diplomacy and contrition.

“Democracy is also strengthened by how we conduct ourselves in public life every day, by our willingness to listen, by the care we take with our words, by our patient efforts to reach agreement, and by our ability to see those who think differently as fellow citizens with whom we share a common destiny,” the pope said.

While Milei praised Leo’s speech as “a superlative lecture” with “very valuable” takeaways, he told television station LN+ that he would rather keep his opinions to himself. “It’s going to be given a political interpretation, and I don’t want to fall into that wretchedness of dragging the Holy Father into the gutter of local politics.”Milei wagered that Bolsonaro would win Brazil’s presidency long before the vote. The Argentine president publicly backed the conservative senator at his campaign launch, where he insulted Lula. The remarks prompted diplomatic protests. Brazil recalled its ambassador to Argentina for consultations and summoned Argentina’s envoy to convey its objections.

Before Leo’s speech, Milei greeted the pope on the tarmac of the downtown airport in the Argentine capital and shook hands with him at the presidential palace before hosting a bilateral meeting alongside his sister, Karina Milei. Argentines widely expected Leo to take a jab at the president in his own deliberate but measured choice of words, given clashes between the libertarian government and the Catholic church in the country.

The pope called for “coordinated action among states” to confront the threats of organized crime, corruption, and arms and drugs trafficking shaking the region. “That strength also depends on the personal integrity of those entrusted with the responsibility of governing, because corruption erodes citizens’ trust in their institutions,” he added.

Bolsonaro faces multiple criminal investigations in Brazil, including a multimillion-dollar money laundering probe. Milei has faced his own share of corruption allegations, the latest of which resulted in the departure of his chief of staff earlier this year and sent approval ratings to their lowest since he took office.

About 39% of Argentines approve of Milei’s government, down from 43% at the start of the year, according to LatAm Pulse, a survey conducted in September by AtlasIntel for Bloomberg News.

Argentines had long yearned for a visit from Leo’s predecessor, Pope Francis, who never returned to his native land as pontiff because of the deep political divide that splits the country. Leo, who isn’t visiting Brazil on this trip, will remain in Argentina until Wednesday when he departs for Peru, the longest and most personal leg of his journey.

“Today, as his successor in the Petrine ministry, I am in a sense making that journey in reverse, coming to the homeland where Pope Francis began a story that would later become intertwined with that of the whole Church,” he said.