Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated on Wednesday there was no agreement for Pope Francis and Russian President Vladimir Putin to meet in order to discuss the Ukrainian crisis, denying claims previously made by the pontiff.
On Tuesday, Pope Francis said in an interview with Corriere della Sera that an official request was directed to Moscow in March to organize a meeting with Putin, claiming that he never received an answer to this initiative.
During yesterday's interview, the pope remarked that the Ukrainian crisis was perhaps to some degree provoked by the NATO alliance which "barked" at Moscow's door, emphasizing its expansion could have contributed to Putin's decision to order the military operation.
