No Russia invite for Pope Francis during Putin's Vatican visit
Leaders swap gifts and goodwill - up to a point - in action-packed visit that featured protests and Berlusconi
Russian President Vladimir Putin had a busy first day in Rome yesterday, going from an audience with the pope, to a Pussy Riot protest, to dinner at the palazzo of his old friend, Silvio Berlusconi.
Putin showed off his religious side during his visit to the Vatican, stopping to cross himself and kiss an icon of the Madonna that he gave to Pope Francis.
But Moscow’s improving relations with the Vatican only went so far: Putin didn’t invite the pontiff to visit.
After the 35-minute audience with the pope, Putin went across town to pay a courtesy call on Italian President Giorgio Napolitano. A few dozen people protesting Russia’s detention of two members of the punk band Pussy Riot tried to block his motorcade, toting posters reading: “We spit on Putin.”
He managed to get through, and then arrived at Berlusconi’s Palazzo Grazioli.
Berlusconi promised a fully Italian dinner for Putin, whom the three-time Italian premier has entertained before at his Sardinian estate. The reunion was sure to buoy Berlsuconi’s spirits: The Italian Senate is due to vote tomorrow on whether to kick him out of parliament following his tax-fraud conviction.
It remains unclear whether Berlusconi will show his old friend the “Putin bed” inside the palazzo. The Russian leader gave the bed to Berlusconi; it gained notoriety when escort Patrizia D’Addario tape-recorded Berlusconi instructing her to wait for him in it while he showered during a night they spent together in 2008.