Russia and Vatican agree to upgrade diplomatic ties

World

Russia and Vatican agree to upgrade diplomatic ties

Close

04 December,2009 05:45 am

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev held talks with Pope Benedict and told him that he had decided to upgrade diplomatic relations between the Vatican and Moscow to the highest level. Visits by Russian leaders to the Holy See in the past have failed to heal the rift between the Roman Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church, rooted in a 1000 year old schism. The Vatican and the then Soviet Union established diplomatic relations in 1990 at the level of an office of representation, even though their respective representatives have always had the rank of ambassador. The new status means that Russia and the Vatican will have fully fledged embassies in Moscow and Rome.