page_title: Holy See–Russia relations
section_title: After 1991
hierarchical_section_title: Holy See–Russia relations / After 1991
caption_attribution_description: English: Visiting the Vatican. With Pope Benedict XVI. Русский: Посещение Ватикана. С Папой Римским Бенедиктом XVI.
context_page_description: Holy See–Russia relations is the bilateral relationship between the Holy See and Russia. The Holy See has an Apostolic Nunciature in Moscow. Russia has a permanent representative to the Holy See based in Rome.
  As the Russian Orthodox Church is the largest organization of Eastern Orthodoxy, Holy See–Russia relations partly reflect Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church relations.
context_section_description: After 1991, the Russian government started a dialogue with the Vatican.
  The Holy See and the Russian Federation established full diplomatic relations in December 2009 following the meeting between Pope Benedict XVI and Russian President Dimitry Medvedev. President Vladimir Putin helped to arrange a meeting between the Pope and Patriarch Kirill at Havana, Cuba in 2016. The meeting also resulted in the two promulgating a joint declaration.
  On 4 July 2019, however, it was revealed that tensions still remained between the Vatican and Russia, with the Russian Orthodox Church and Ukrainian conflict serving as the major causes of these tensions. Despite holding a "cordial" meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Vatican, Pope Francis stated it is unlikely that he will visit Russia unless Putin agrees to not include the Russian Orthodox Church in the invitation, which Putin stated would be unlikely as well. Pope Francis has also declared support for the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, which has expressed opposition to Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church and also the 2016 joint declaration.
caption: Then Russian president Dmitry Medvedev who is Russian Orthodox[1], meeting Pope Benedict XVI in Vatican City. Holy See–Russia relations partly reflect the larger Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church relations.
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