Vatican apologises to Russia for Pope's comment that their troops were the 'cruellest' fighters in Ukraine
The Vatican has apologised to the Russian government for Pope Francis' comment that their troops were the 'cruellest' fighters in Ukraine. The Vatican confirmed on Thursday December 15, that it has apologised for Pope Francis' comments last month that referred to Russian soldiers from certain ethnic minority groups. At a briefing in Moscow, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Russia now considered the matter closed and hoped for a constructive dialogue between Russia and the Vatican. The Pope, 85, made the comments about the Chechens and Buryats while speaking in an interview with Jesuit magazine America on November 22. He said: 'The cruelest are perhaps those who are of Russia but are not of the Russian tradition, such as the Chechens, the Buryats and so on. 'I speak of a people who are martyred. If you have a martyred people, you have someone who martyrs them.' Vatican spokesman, Matteo Brun...