PAPAL AUDIENCES WITH RUSSIAN, UKRAINIAN OFFICIALS

VATICAN CITY, MAR 28, 2003 (VIS) - Joaquin Navarro-Valls, director of the Holy See Press Office, made the following statement this afternoon:

"This morning the Holy Father John Paul II received in separate audiences Sergey M. Mironov, president of the senate of the Russian Federation, and Volodimyr Litvin, president of the parliament of Ukraine.

"Afterwards the president of the senate of the Russian Federation and the president of the Ukrainian parliament each met separately with Cardinal Angelo Sodano, secretary of state.

"During the conversations there was an exchange of opinions on Church-State relations in the respective countries and on the prospects for peace at the present moment."

OP;OFFICIALS; RUSSIA; UKRAINE;...;NAVARRO-VALLS;VIS;20030328;Word: 120;