Pope and Russian Orthodox Patriarch hold historic meeting in Cuba

Pope Francis has met the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, in an historic development in the 1,000-year-old schism that divided Christianity.

Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill embraced and kissed one another three times on the cheek as they met in a wood-panelled VIP room at Havana airport.

It was the first time a pope and Russian patriarch had ever met.

The Vatican sees the meeting as an important new step in its ecumenical efforts, but many Orthodox observers see Kirill's willingness to sit down with a pope as more an attempt to assert Russia and Russian Orthodoxy at a time when Moscow is being isolated by the West.

"Finally!" Pope Francis exclaimed as he embraced Patriarch Kirill, and Patriarch Kirill told the pope through an interpreter: "Now things are easier."

Pope Francis was having the brief talks in Cuba before heading off on a five-day visit to Mexico.

The meeting and signing of a joint declaration was decades in the making and cemented Pope Francis' reputation as a risk-taking statesman who values dialogue, bridge-building and rapprochement at almost any cost.

Indeed, while the meeting with Patriarch Kirill has been hailed by many as an important...