Havana - President Raul Castro returned to this capital yesterday night after a tour of Algeria, Russia and Italy, nations that showed a great hospitality towards the Caribbean nation.

Raul Castro was welcomed at the Jose Marti International Airport by Vice President Jose Ramon Machado Ventura, and Interior Minister, Army Corps General Abelardo Colome Ibarra.

During the last stage of his tour, the president was welcomed in private audience by Pope Francis for 55 minutes in one of the rooms near to Paul VI Audience Hall in Vatican City.

Raul Castro also met with Italy's Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, at the Chigi Palace, the headquarter of the government in Rome, where he declared that the current relations with Italy are in good condition and highlighted the role of the nation in negotiations with the European Union.