Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with senior Vatican officials Thursday and both sides welcomed what they said were improving relations between Moscow and the Holy See.
Lavrov said there was no discussion about Pope John Paul II's desire to visit Russia, a visit blocked because of strains between the Vatican and the Russian Orthodox Church.
But Lavrov told a news conference that relations between Moscow and the Vatican "have developed happily over the last 15 years. The ties are strong in part thanks to the improving relations between the Orthodox and Catholic churches."
He also expressed satisfaction that the pope has decided to return a revered icon to Russia.
The Vatican announced on Saturday that the icon of the Mother of God of Kazan, which usually hangs in the pope's private chapel, would be given back on Aug. 28.
Tensions between the Russian Orthodox Church, the dominant Christian faith in Russia, and the Roman Catholic Church have sharpened after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 and communist restrictions on religion faded.
Lavrov met with Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Vatican secretary of state, and Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, Vatican foreign minister. The pope is on vacation in the Alps.
"The meeting demonstrated the cordial relations that exist between the two parties and the possibility of further developments," the Vatican said.
The statement said they also discussed the Holy Land and Iraq and "dialogue among cultures and collaboration within international organizations."