Pope Francis made a proposal to meet with Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church at one of the airports in Moscow, when his plane will refuel on the way to Mongolia or back. This was reported on July 23 by the Russian news agency “TASS” with reference to the head of the World Union of Old Believers Leonid Sevastyanov.

Sevastyanov’s personal conversation with the pontiff, according to him, took place on Sunday, July 23. He noted that the airport is regarded as a transit zone, which is considered neutral, and such a meeting would not cause opposition from those who oppose the visit of the Pope to Russia.

Leonid Sevastyanov claims that possible dates for such a meeting could be August 31, when the Pope leaves for Mongolia, or September 4, when he will be on his way back. However, the Russian Orthodox Church has not yet commented on the proposal for a meeting.