For his part, the head of the Russian republic of Buryatia recalled that there are many examples of cruelty “by those who consider themselves representatives of civilized nations” and of the destruction of cities and countries “without the participation of the Buryats, Chechens and others peoples” of Russia.
In a recent interview, Pope Francis claimed that the greatest cruelty in Ukraine does not come from the Slavic people, but from the peoples of the Russian republics of Chechnya and Buryatia, prompting criticism from Moscow and the Russian republics.
Asked about the fact that Americans and kyiv supporters do not understand Pope Francis’ “unwillingness” to “directly criticize Russia for its aggression against Ukraine” and how he would explain his position on the conflict, the pontiff He stated: “When I talk about Ukraine, I talk about cruelty, since I have a lot of information about the cruelty of the arriving troops. In general, the cruelest are perhaps those who are from Russia, but they do not belong to the Russian tradition, like the Chechens, Buryats, etc. Certainly, the one who invades is the Russian state.”
This statement caused outrage in the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and among the authorities of the Russian republic of Buryatia.
Thus, the spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry, Maria Zajarova, described the words of Pope Francis as a “perversion”. “This is no longer Russophobia, it is a perversion of I don’t know what level,” she declared.
For his part, the head of the Republic of Buryatia, Alexei Tsidenov, wrote on his Telegram channel that the pope’s words were “strange to say the least.” “Fearlessly defend, with honor and dignity, the interests of your country. Protect and defend civilians, as well as treat captives with humanity and mercy, this is how the Russian Army fights with hundreds of nationalities, including Buryats. Listen to the head of the Catholic Church to assess the cruelty of certain nationalities, specifically the Buryats and Chechens who defend civilians is, to say the least, strange,” he said.
In addition, he recalled that “history knows many examples of the destruction of cities, countries and even villages by those who consider themselves representatives of civilized nations.” “You don’t have to go back very far in history. The capital of a European state, the city of Belgrade, or an entire state, like Libya, was bombed without the participation of the Buryats, Chechens and other peoples of Greater Russia. And for Of course, the pope knows,” he said.
He added that residents of the Donbass “have lived under shelling for more than 8 years and have died by the hundreds” due to the actions of “Ukrainian nationalists under the leadership of a criminal regime and the mentors of ‘civilized’ nations.”
Source: RT
