Vatican apologises to Russia for Pope’s ‘cruellest’ comment

 

Russia has received an apology from the Vatican for Pope Francis’ remarks that their soldiers were the “cruellest” combatants in Ukraine.

According to Daily Mail, Russia announced on Thursday that it had received an apology from Pope Francis for his remarks last month that Russian soldiers from certain ethnic minority groups were the ‘cruelest’ combatants in the Ukraine conflict.

A spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova stated at a press briefing in Moscow that Russia now considers the matter resolved and hopes for a constructive dialogue with the Vatican.

The Pope, 85 years old, made the remarks about the Chechens and Buryats in an interview with the Jesuit publication America on November 22.

He said, “The cruellest are perhaps those who are of Russia but are not of the Russian tradition, such as the Chechens, the Buryats and so on.

“I speak of a people who are martyred. If you have a martyred people, you have someone who martyrs them.”

The Buryats are an ethnic group from east Siberia, whereas the Chechens are from Chechnya in southern Russia.

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