Contrary to expectations, Russian President Vladimir Putin did not extend an invitation to Pope John Paul to visit Russia during a half-hour private audience in the Vatican yesterday.
At what was his first meeting with the Pope, the newly elected Russian President had been expected to reissue an invitation already formally made by his predecessors, Mr Mikhail Gorbachev and Mr Boris Yeltsin. A practising Orthodox Christian, President Putin enjoys good relations with the Russian Orthodox hierarchy and for that reason had been expected to act as an intermediary between the Orthodox Church and the Vatican, helping to overcome a nearly thousand-year-old schism.
Looking fresh and well, the Pope made a rare exception in Vatican protocol to meet the Russian President in the evening. As cameras whirred around them in the Pontifical Library, the Pope and Mr Putin made amicable small chat in Russian.
Senior Vatican spokesman Dr Joaquin Navarro-Valls said afterwards the Pope and Mr Putin had discussed the role of Russia and the Holy See in overseeing EastWest integration, and had also touched on a broad range of international issues. Italian state TV last night reported, however, that the Russian President had not issued the expected invitation to the Pope to visit Russia. The lack of such an invitation testifies to the persistent tension between the two churches, a tension that has been greatly exacerbated since the fall of the Berlin Wall. The Russian Orthodox Church has accused the Vatican of availing of new-found freedom in Eastern Europe to proselytise. The two churches have also clashed over contested Catholic properties, confiscated by Stalin in the post-war years and handed over to the Orthodox Church.
Earlier in the day, the Russian President had a two-hour meeting with Italian Prime Minister Mr Giuliano Amato, during which he appeared to repeat an offer made to President Clinton during their two-day Moscow summit last weekend, calling on the US, NATO, Russia and the EU to work together on a joint missile defence system:
"We know that many here in Europe and in the world and in the United States are worried about whether the 1972 [anti-ballistic missiles] accord will be kept . . . We share the point of departure of this discussion . . . We also thank many European leaders for their position in favour of maintaining this accord," Mr Putin said during a brief news conference. He gave no further detail of his defence system proposal.
Speaking after their meeting, Mr Amato expressed his satisfaction, saying that Italy and Russia had "a huge capacity for mutual comprehension". After his audience with the Pope, President Putin then attended a state banquet hosted by Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi.
The Russian President's two-day visit ends today in Milan where he will meet prominent figures from the Italian business community including the former Fiat president, Mr Gianni Agnelli, and the president of the Confederation of Italian Industry, Mr Antonio D'Amato. Italy is Russia's third-biggest trading partner, outside the Commonwealth of Independent States.