(RoyalPatriot.com )- Pope Francis recently asserted that foreigners like “the Chechens” and “the Buryati” who support Russia in the conflict in Ukraine are the “cruelest” warriors, drawing criticism from the Russian government.
In an interview with the Jesuit-run magazine America released on Monday, the Pope appeared to be attempting to downplay the guilt on indigenous Russian troops, but Moscow interpreted his remarks as an effort to sow discord in the nation.
The pope was accused of “race-baiting” by the state-run Russian news agency TASS, while Konstantin Kosachev, the deputy speaker of the Russian Federation Council, said the pontiff’s remarks “create a dividing line between peoples and religions.”
Kosachev said it is entirely unacceptable in today’s world, and one can only regret that Pope Francis made an enormous mistake in this case. He said it can only harm the conflict and will in no way help the parties find common ground and a way out of the crisis through reconciliation.
According to Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, the statements of the pope went beyond “Russophobia” and were an unacceptable “perversion of the reality.”
Zakharova stated on Twitter, “We are one family with Buryats, Chechens, and other representatives of our multinational and multi-confessional country.”
Alexander Avdeev, the Russian ambassador to the Holy See, told TASS that the Vatican had received a formal protest from the Kremlin on the “odd remarks” Pope Francis had made.
The suggestion that Russian service members committed alleged atrocities while participating in the special military operation in Ukraine offended Russia, he added.
Nobody will ever question the unbreakable unity of the multiethnic Russian nation, Avdeev continued.
The pope’s comments in America were in answer to a query about why Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, is never explicitly mentioned in his denunciation of the conflict.
Francis said that there is no doubt that the Russian state is the one that invades. “It’s really obvious.”
He said even if it is obvious who he is criticizing, there are instances when he tries to avoid being specific to avoid offending and instead condemns in general.
“Why don’t I mention Putin? Since it is previously known, it is not essential,” he stated.
“However, occasionally, people pick up on a detail. Everyone knows my position, whether I mention Putin or not.”
