Russia has received a official statement of apology from the Vatican for the words of Pope Francis on Chechens and Buryats“the incident is closed,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Thursday.
“Just in these hours, through diplomatic channels, an official statement has arrived from the Vatican Secretary of State of the Holy SeePietro Parolin”, in which it is said that the Vatican “apologizes to the Russian side, the Holy See has profound respect for all the peoples of Russia, their dignity, faith and culture, as well as for the other countries and peoples of the world”.
In an interview released in recent days to the Jesuit magazine “America” Pope Francis had defined “Chechens and Buryats the cruellest of the Russian military”.
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni confirms that “there have been diplomatic contacts” by the Holy See with Moscow in reference to the words reported by the Russian side on the Vatican’s apologies”.
