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Patriarch Kirill met Fidel Castro

The meeting, which took place at Castro’s home in Havana, lasted for more than an hour

Patriarch Kirill EPA/ALEJANDRO ERNESTO

Patriarch Kirill

© EPA/ALEJANDRO ERNESTO

HAVANA, February 14 /TASS/. Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill met Fidel Castrol, the leader of the Cuban revolution, on Sunday to discuss international relations, Priest Alexander Volkov, Patriarch Kirill’s press secretary, said on Sunday.

The meeting, which took place at Castro’s home in Havana, lasted for more than an hour.

"The conversation dwelt on international relations. Fidel Castro stressed the importance of [the patriarch’s] meeting with Fidel Castro," the press secretary said.

Patriarch Kirill, according to Volkov, thanked Castro for giving the green light for the construction of an Orthodox church in Havana in his time, which Cuba’s Orthodox community has been using for many years.

It is was not Castro’s first meeting with Patriarch Kirill. The two met each other in Havana in October 2008.

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church is paying a visit to Cuba these days at the invitation of Raul Castro, the president of Cuba’s Council of State.

On Saturday, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church laid a wreath to the Monument to Soviet Internationalist Soldiers in Havana. Patriarch Kirill visited the Solidarity with Panama rehabilitation center for seriously ill children and received the Order of Jose Marti of Cuba from Raul Castro.

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