VATICAN CITY - Vatican said that it have earlier been informed that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan could not meet Pope Benedict XVI who would pay a visit to Turkey at the end of November.
After some news reports were published in Italian press, Vatican Press Office released a statement, noting that Vatican was earlier informed that Erdogan could not meet Pope Benedict XVI during his scheduled visit to Turkey. The statement implied that PM Erdogan would not be in Turkey due to NATO summit at the end of November.
Pope Benedict XVI will visit Turkey between November 28th and December 1st.
Pope will be in Ankara on November 28th to meet Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer.
The Pope will proceed to Istanbul after visiting Izmir and Ephesus. He will attend the Saint Andreas feast on November 30th at Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarchate and will leave Istanbul on December 1st.