Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met Pope Francis for "cordial" private talks on Monday, marking the first visit to the Vatican by a Turkish head of state since 1959.
Erdogan and the pontiff "spoke about the situation in Turkey, the condition of the Catholic community, efforts to accommodate refugees and the challenges linked to this," the Vatican said in a statement after the audience.
"Attention then turned to the situation in the Middle East, with particular reference to the status of Jerusalem," it added.
Despite previous disagreements, the two leaders found common ground on Jerusalem after the US unilaterally recognized the city as the capital of Israel.