According to reports in the Polish newspaper „Wyborcza“ and in the italian „La Stampa“, the Russian head of state agreed to travel to Italy to receive the prize. He will probably meet Pope Francis, and will be accompanied by a high representative of the Russian Church.

The „Golden Palm“ award has been awarded since the 1980s by the association Assisi Pax International, an ecclesiastical association inspired by St. Francis.

The award refers to the meeting of John Paul II, in which representatives of different religions prayed together in Assisi in 1986 for peace.