The Vatican has offered apologies to Moscow for remarks made by Pope Francis about the cruelty exhibited by Chechens and Buryats in the Ukraine war, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.
“The Holy See is deeply respectful of all ethnicities of Russia, their dignity, religion, and culture, just like of any other countries and nations around the world,” the Vatican’s statement read.
Zakharova noted that “the ability to accept mistakes is becoming increasingly rare for the modern international community”, adding that the incident had now been put to rest.
In November, Pope Francis was asked about the nature of the cruel murders in Bucha, Irpin, and Izyum which were occupied by Russia at the time and said: “Generally, 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 would like to remind our Catholic brothers the Bible says that everyone has one Father. It is the beginning and the end of all talks that have any xenophobic, racist, nationalist, or any other hateful motives,” Zakharova responded.