The head of the Russian Federation met with the Secretary of State of the Vatican Cardinal Pietro Parolin. As it became known, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Holy See came with a proposal to establish even closer ties with the Russian Orthodox Church.

However, in Moscow, this attention was not accentuated. At the same time Monsignor Parolin, on the eve of his departure, told in an interview that he was going to negotiate the visit of Pope Francis to Russia. However, in Sochi there was also no mention of such prospects for rapprochement in official reports. The Russian president only noted the very fruitful cooperation between Moscow and the Vatican.

The Russian president said: "I know that you had a conversation with Patriarch Kirill. We welcome the dialogue that has begun directly between the Holy See and the Russian Orthodox Church. Humanitarian humanitarian values ??that protect the Holy See and the Russian Orthodox Church, undoubtedly, lie at the heart of the relationship between the two churches, at the heart of the relationship between Russia as a state and the Vatican ".

Putin also thanked the Monsignor of the Secretary of State and His Holiness the Pope for having "released the relics of St. Nicholas the Miracle-Worker to Moscow and St. Petersburg and for the exhibition of Treasures of the Vatican Museums in the Tretyakov Gallery".

Vladimir Putin, noted that now Moscow is preparing a response - an exhibition "The spiritual heritage of Russian art from icon painting to the avant-garde". He added that with the help of Rome, they are ready to deploy it as early as 2018.