Pope Francis praised Azerbaijan as a place of religious tolerance as he met privately with Sheikh ul-Islam, the region’s grand mufti, before meeting meeting with Orthodox Christian, Muslim and Jewish leaders. Alluding to wars in the region, Francis called on religions to “be active agents working to overcome the tragedies of the past and the tensions of the present.”
But Francis was silent about the Azerbaijan government’s much-criticized record on civil liberties, human rights and fair elections.