MOSCOW, March 13. /TASS/. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov is not aware that Pope Francis wants to visit Vladivostok after his planned visit to Mongolia in the spring.

"No, we learned that from what you’ve just said," he said on Monday in reply to a reporter's question about whether the Kremlin was aware of such a desire by the pontiff and whether high-level contacts were planned, "We do not know whether the Pope has any plans to travel to Russia. Therefore, we cannot say anything here."

He noted that contacts between Russia and the Vatican take place both at the state level, through diplomats, and at the church level. "I have no other information on this matter," Peskov reiterated.

When asked whether the Kremlin would get involved in resolving related issues if necessary, he confirmed, "Absolutely". "First we need to engage diplomatic channels and so on. Let's wait for some official statements from the Vatican on this matter," the Kremlin spokesman urged.

Earlier, Leonid Sevastyanov, chairman of the World Union of Old Believers, said, citing a personal conversation with the pontiff, that the Pope would like to travel to Russia’s Far Eastern city of Vladivostok and visit the Land of the Leopard National Park after his planned visit to Mongolia in the spring. According to him, the pontiff previously named a Far Eastern leopard from the Russian national park.