Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has denounced that Pope Francis’ words about Chechens and Buryats demonstrate not only his «Russophobia» but also a «scandalous perversion of the truth.»
«This is no longer Russophobia, but a perversion. Remember that in the 1990s and early 2000s we were told exactly the opposite: that it is Russians, Slavs (who) were torturing the peoples of the Caucasus, and now we are told that it is the peoples of the Caucasus who are torturing the Russians,» he said, as reported by the TASS news agency.
Zakharova was referring to the Pope’s words in which he assured that the «most cruel» in the framework of the war are the «Chechens and the Buryats», alluding to those who live in Russia but do not have a Russian tradition.
«It is not necessary for me to put the name and surname, why didn’t I name (President, Vladimir) Putin? Because it was not necessary, it was already known. Everyone knows what my position is, with Putin or without Putin, without naming him,» Pope Francis said.
The Pope also explained that he spoke three times on the phone with the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky: «I thought about traveling, but I made the decision: if I travel, I go to Moscow and Kiev, to both, not just to one place».
