Putin and pope hold 'substantive' talks in shadow of Ukraine crisis

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Pope Francis at the Vatican July 4, 2019. Vatican Media/­Handout via REUTERS

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked Pope Francis for "very substantive" talks on Thursday, a day before Ukraine's Catholic leaders were due at the Vatican.

Putin, who has met with Francis twice before, arrived an hour late. He had been 50 minutes late for their first meeting in 2013 and more than an hour late for their second in 2015 - highly unusual for world leaders meeting the pope.