Meeting with Pope Francis 2015-06-10 21:00:00 The Vatican Vladimir Putin visited the Vatican and met with Pope Francis. During a substantive and friendly conversation, which lasted over an hour, President Putin and Pope Francis discussed the current situation in global affairs, including the crisis in Ukraine, and touched on universal and humanitarian values which largely unite Catholic and Orthodox Christianity, as well as all religions. Both sides expressed concern about the status of Christians in the Middle East.