DHAKA: Pope Francis, who helped broker a historic thaw between the United States and Cuba, held talks with Cuban president Raul Castro on Sunday ahead of the pontiff’s trip to both countries in September.
The brother of Cuba’s revolutionary leader Fidel arrived for a meeting that the Vatican has said was strictly private and not a state visit.
On his way back to Cuba from Moscow, Castro stopped in Rome to meet the pope to thank him for the Vatican’s mediation between the United States and Cuba, Cuban officials said.
Castro was also due to meet Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi later on Sunday before leaving Rome, reports The Straits Times.
BDST: 1851 HRS, MAY 10, 2015
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