Spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembsky also denied reports that Yeltsin would invite John Paul to visit Russia, the ITAR-Tass news agency said. The Holy Father is expected to take Yeltsin to task over a new Russian law that puts severe restrictions on non-Russian Orthodox religions, including the Catholic Church, when the two men meet during Yeltsin's February 9-11 visit to Italy.
The Pope may also ask Yeltsin to intervene in a dispute over property confiscated from Eastern-rite Catholic churches by the Soviet regime and handed over to the Russian Orthodox church, an issue that has strained relations between the Catholic and Orthodox churches.