SYRIZA leader Tsipras to be received by Pope Francis

Main opposition SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras on Thursday will meet with Pope Francis in the Vatican.

According to Avgi newspaper, Tsipras, accompanied by the party’s spokesman Panos Skourletis, will be received by the Pope on Thursday morning. Their discussion will focus on issues related to poverty, migration and the environment.

The meeting is considered a “historical” one, as no other leftist leader has ever before been received by the head of the Roman Catholic church.

Tsipras’ upcoming meeting with the Pope Francis has historically significant political dimensions, the party said in a statement, noting that the meeting “has a unique political significance for the radical Left and for Greece itself.”

SYRIZA believes the fact that Pope has never before received a European leader of the Left and a Greek political leader indicates the new phase that the European Left has entered as well as the international recognition of SYRIZA.

Regarding the agenda of the meeting, SYRIZA noted that it would focus on world peace, the need for initiatives that would avert war conflicts, the migration issue as well as the necessary actions to protect the environment.