Russian President Vladimir Putin on
Wednesday sent a message of good wishes to Pope Francis on the
11th anniversary of his election to the papal throne, the
Russian embassy to the Holy See told the Tass news agency.
It said there are "close contacts with representatives of the
Vatican" and "direct contacts between the ambassador, Ivan
Soltanovsky and the Pope".
The embassy stated that Pope Francis is "a true and honest
defender of peace and one of the few leaders with an honest
strategic vision of world problems".
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