Secretary of State Marco Rubio has left the Vatican following a meeting with Pope Leo amid strained relations between the Vatican and the United States. As reported by The Guardian, Rubio spent about two hours in the Vatican, according to UNN.
Details
Rubio first met with the Pontiff and then with high-ranking Vatican officials, including top diplomat Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Reuters reports.
The US State Department, in a statement cited by the AP agency, said Rubio and Pope Leo discussed "efforts to achieve a lasting peace in the Middle East," which apparently lie at the heart of the disagreements between US President Donald Trump and the Pope.
The meeting demonstrated "strong" relations between the US and the Vatican, the department added.
A US official also told reporters that the conversations were "friendly and constructive," while AFP noted that Rubio, a devout Catholic seeking to downplay the differences, met with both the Pontiff and the Vatican Secretary of State (and de facto top diplomat).