Moscow: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will cancel a planned trip to Italy after the death of Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexiy II on Friday and return straight to Moscow from a visit to India, his spokeswoman said.
"Today the president had a telephone conversation with the Italian president. In connection with the death of the Patriarch, it was decided that celebrations devoted to handing over a religious centre in Bari to the Russian Orthodox Church will be postponed," spokeswoman Natalya Timakova told reporters.
"The president will return to Moscow today after ending his official visit to India."
