Today’s meeting over lunch “made possible an exchange of opinions on the current international situation, with particular reference to the crisis in Iraq and the Holy Land,” affirmed a statement issued by Joaquín Navarro-Valls, director of the Vatican press office.
Gianni Letta, Cabinet undersecretary and a close adviser of the Prime Minister, also was in attendence.
John Paul II and his aides are working to promote peaceful solutions to the Iraqi crisis. For its part, the Berlusconi government has shown itself favorable to the U.S. administration’s position, although in recent days it has emphasized the need for U.N. approval for any military intervention.
