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Pope and Russian patriarch ready to sign declaration on February 12 — papal nuncio

The declaration will be distributed in four languages so that broad public could understand what it says better and faster, Apostolic Nuncio in Russia Ivan Yurkovich said
Pope Francis and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill  AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev/Andrew Medichini, Files
Pope Francis and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill
© AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev/Andrew Medichini, Files

MOSCOW, February 9 /TASS/. Pope Francis and Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill will sign a declaration at their historic meeting in Cuba’s capital Havana on February 12, Apostolic Nuncio in Russia Ivan Yurkovich told journalists on Tuesday.

He said the declaration’s text had been prepared and finalized and would be known to journalists before the meeting.

"Both sides have worked out the declaration in detail. It will be available to the journalists accompanying the pontiff on his trip before the meeting starts. The declaration will be distributed in four languages so that broad public could understand what it says better and faster," Yurkovich said.

"The Vatican’s speaker refrained from any judgements on its [the declaration’s] content," the papal nuncio said.

Lithuanian priest Visvaldas Kulbokas will be an interpreter at this Friday’s meeting between Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill and Pope Francis, BNS, the largest pan-Baltic news agency, said on February 8.

For the moment, Kulbokas, 41, is a member of the Holy See’s diplomatic service. He interpreted the pontiff’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in June 2015.

Kulbokas used to be the first secretary of the Holy See’s (Vatican’s) embassy in Moscow. He is a graduate of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy. Only four representatives of Lithuania have undergone training in the most prestigious institution of high learning of the Roman Catholic Church.