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Pope Francis meets Putin for a diplomatically difficult talk

c. 2015 Religion News Service

VATICAN CITY (RNS) A serious-looking Pope Francis on Wednesday spoke with Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, in a meeting focused on conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East that pose complex and contrasting diplomatic challenges for the two leaders.

Francis spent 50 minutes in a private meeting with Putin, to which the Russian leader arrived more than an hour late.