Russian Ambassador to the Vatican Aleksandr Avdeyev expressed his “indignation” at Pope Francis’ remarks about the “oppression” of Chechen and Buryat fighters in the war in Ukraine.
According to the Russian news agency Ria Novosti, the diplomat said: “I expressed anger at such implications and stressed that nothing can undermine the harmony and unity of the Russian multinational people.”
The protest stemmed from an interview Jorge Bergoglio gave to the Jesuit magazine “America”, where he was asked why he did not usually openly condemn Russia when talking about the invasion of Ukraine.
“When I say Ukraine, I am talking about a people who were martyred. If there are martyrs, there are also martyrs. When I say Ukraine, I mean oppression because I know a lot about Ukraine’s oppression. Invading troops,” said the Pope.
“In general, the most cruel are perhaps those from Russia, but Chechens, Buryats, etc., who do not have a Russian tradition, of course, it is the Russian state that has invaded, this is very clear.”
While the Russians are a Slavic ethnic group, the Chechens form a people of Caucasian origin and their own language, concentrated in the Chechen Republic led by Ramzan Kadyrov, one of the most radical supporters of Vladimir Putin.
Buryats are an indigenous people of Siberia and mostly live in the Republic of Buryatia, which is also part of the Russian Federation.
In the same interview where he criticized the atrocities in the occupation of Ukraine, the Pope said he was fit to mediate between Moscow and Kyiv and reiterated that he wanted to visit the two capitals for peace negotiations.
source: Noticias
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.