Josh Weiner
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Rome on Thursday (4th) to meet with senior officials of the Vatican and the Italian government. When he met with Pope Francis, he did not change his “late king” style.
Together with this meeting, Putin met with Francis three times, but he was late for 50 minutes to an hour in three meetings. He is one of the few national leaders to teach Buddhism.
The talks between Putin and Franciscans lasted about 55 minutes. The two sides discussed Syria, Ukraine and Venezuela. The meeting was also the day before the Ukrainian Catholic summit visited the Vatican. Russia and Ukraine have had close relations in recent years. The Kiev Orthodox Church has become more independent from Moscow. Putin, which has close ties with the Russian Orthodox Church, has been opposed to the Ukrainian move, saying that the incident is politically motivated.
After Putin visited the Vatican and held talks with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, Putin expressed the hope that Italy could help Russia improve relations with the EU. In addition, Putin also talked about the Syrian issue, saying that there are worries that armed elements were smuggled into Libya from Idlib, Syria, warning that the situation in Libya may deteriorate.
