U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday in Rome that he had had a “very good meeting” the previous day with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, nearly a month after U.S. President Donald Trump harshly criticized the pontiff’s stance on the war in Iran, according to AFP and Ansa.

The head of U.S. diplomacy told reporters in Rome that he had discussed areas of mutual interest with Pope Leo, particularly religious freedom and the threat posed by Iran.

"It is important to share our points of view, to offer explanations, and to understand where we are coming from. And I found this to be very positive," Marco Rubio emphasized.

"We have a very strong relationship with the Vatican, and this trip had been planned long in advance," Rubio added, whose visit to Rome had been presented as a mission to "thaw relations" following President Donald Trump’s criticism of Pope Leo for his opposition to the war in Iran and the angry words he directed at Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni after she defended the pontiff, notes Ansa.

"It was a very good meeting; we discussed various parts of the world where the Vatican is present," Rubio added.

The U.S. Secretary of State met Friday in Rome with his Italian counterpart, Antonio Tajani, and then with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at her office in Palazzo Chigi.

AGERPRES