Aboard the Papal Plane: Pope Francis arrived Tuesday in Kazakhstan's capital Nur-Sultan for a three-day visit to take part in an inter-religious summit marked by the absence of Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill amid tensions over Ukraine.

His plane landed shortly after 5:15 pm (1115 GMT), an AFP journalist onboard said, and the 85-year-old pontiff was to be received by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev before giving a first speech to the authorities and the diplomatic corps.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will be in Kazakhstan at the same time as Francis during his first trip abroad since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

Their respective visits to the Central Asian country comes at a time when the Vatican is hoping to renew a historic accord appointing bishops in China.

Asked by journalists during the flight about a possible meeting with Xi, Francis said he had "no information" about any possible talks.

He added, however, that he was "always ready to go to China".