Argentinian pontiff Francis has helped broker diplomatic detentes in Cuba and Venezuela, met with the pair for twenty minutes.

Santos appealed for the support to end half a century of war with the Marxist rebels which has killed a quarter of a million people.

He presented the Pope with a pen made from a machine gun bullet which bore the inscription: “Bullets have written our past, education will write our future”.

Santos signed a modified peace deal in November, after voters rejected the original in a referendum. Uribe argues the new deal is not tough enough on the FARC. The opposition leader said he was attending the meeting out of respect for the first Latin American pontiff, but made no reference to the agreement. (Euronews)