Kremlin has issued statement on whether Vladimir Putin will attend Pope Francis' funeral tomorrow
The Kremlin has issued a statement regarding Vladimir Putin's plans ahead of Pope Francis' funeral tomorrow (26 April).
The 88-year-old passed away on Easter Monday (21 April) and will be laid to rest at the church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome this weekend, with royal families, religious leaders and politicians from around the world expected to be in attendance.
While the likes of Donald Trump might not be too happy to be sitting so far back tomorrow afternoon, he was one of the first to confirm that he will be travelling to Vatican City to pay his respects.
Even though the two did not agree on many things, memorably arguing about the US president's reported plans to build a wall on the US-Mexico border nearly 10 years ago, it is almost incomprehensible that a world leader wouldn't be in attendance tomorrow.
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However, it was quickly made clear that Russian President Vladimir Putin would not be making an appearance, following a statement from his spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier this week.
He said: "No. The president has no such plans," when asked by reporters if Putin would be at Pope Francis' funeral.
Of course, he didn't allude to the fact that even had Putin been desperate to attend, it would've been a huge risk for him to do so.
The 72-year-old hasn't travelled to a Western country since the invasion of Ukraine three years ago and he is still subject to an international criminal court arrest warrant for the alleged forced deportation of Ukrainian children.
Russia will instead be represented by its culture minister, Olga Lyubimova.
Although the Pope had regularly called for peace between Russia and Ukraine, with Putin ignoring him in the same way he has done with most leaders across the world, he did still pay tribute to him following his death.
According to the Kremlin, he called Pope Francis a 'defender of the highest values of humanism and justice'.
In a statement, Putin also said: "Throughout the years of his pontificate, he actively promoted the development of dialogue between the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches, as well as constructive cooperation between Russia and the Holy See.
"In this sad hour, I would like to convey to you and the entire Catholic clergy my words of sympathy and support."
The Pope's funeral will begin tomorrow at 8am UK time.
Topics: Pope Francis, Vladimir Putin, World News, Politics, Russia
James Moorhouse