April 27, 1966
For the first time in History, a Pope meets a representative of the Soviet Union.
Paul VI receives Andrei Gromyko,
Minister of USSR Foreign Affairs, at the Vatican
It is unanimously considered a bold step of Vatican Ostpolitik,
that is, the policy of openness of the Church to Communism.
John Paul II would receive Gromyko twice,
the first time on January 24, 1979, two months after being elected Pope,
and the second time, on February 27, 1985.
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