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Mr Putin thanked the Archbishop for the attention the Greek Orthodox Church was paying to the Russian Orthodox Church.

The problems connected with the ideology that once ruled the Soviet Union were now gone, he said, while the spiritual closeness between the two peoples not only remained, but was gaining in strength. This, he said, was a pillar for cooperation, and Russia did not have such a pillar with any other state.

After meeting with the Archbishop of Athens, Mr Putin met with members of the Synod and representatives of the Archbishopric.