Macron meets pope, talks expected to centre on Ukraine

[October 24, 2022]  VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron and Pope Francis held nearly an hour of private talks on Monday, with the crisis in Ukraine and prospects for peace there expected to have been their main topic of discussion.

Pope Francis meets French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron following a private audience at the Vatican October 24, 2022. Vatican Media/Handout via REUTERS

Macron, accompanied by his wife Brigitte, arrived at the Vatican and was greeted with an honour guard of Swiss Guards in the San Damaso courtyard before taking an elevator to the official papal study in the Apostolic Palace.

The Vatican said their private talks lasted 55 minutes. Both sides were expected to issue statements later.

Macron is in Italy to attend an international conference organised by Italy's Sant'Egidio Community, a worldwide peace and charity group.

He and the pope will jointly close the conference at a special ceremony at the Colosseum in Rome on Tuesday.

Opening the conference on Rome's outskirts on Sunday, Macron said he believed there was a chance for peacein Ukraine, even as Russia warned the conflict could escalate.

(Reporting by Philip Pullella; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

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