Speechwriters who prepare briefs and texts for Pope Francis should go to Donbass and see everything that is happening there with their own eyes. This opinion was expressed on Tuesday by Mufti Albir Krganov, chairman of the Spiritual Assembly of Muslims of Russia, commenting on Francis' statement about the "cruelty" of Buryats and Chechens in the zone of the special military operation.
The pope, in an interview with US media, called the Chechens and Buryats "the most brutal part of the Russian troops in Ukraine."
"We were, to put it mildly, very surprised by the words of His Holiness the Pope. <...> We would suggest that those speechwriters who apparently write these 'references' to the pontiff should come to Donbass, come to Luhansk and see for themselves, talk to people if they want to react objectively," Krganov said on "Solovyov Live." He also suggested that one should not forget about the facts of the shootings of the Russian military, "it is necessary to talk about it, it is necessary to be objective," the mufti added.
The Russian Investigative Committee earlier opened a criminal case over the mass shooting of unarmed captive Russian servicemen by representatives of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The events allegedly took place in Makeyevka.
According to Krganov, a religious figure of such rank as the Pontiff of Rome must take special responsibility and be careful with what he says, because millions of his followers are listening to his words. The mufti did not rule out the possibility that the published statements aim to "somehow divide Russian society," which has always been multi-ethnic and multi-confessional.
After Francis' interview was published in Americamagazine, Russian ambassador to the Vatican Alexander Avdeev expressed indignation and made a representation to the heads of the Holy See's diplomatic service. On Monday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova commented on the Pope's words and said that his statements demonstrate not just Russophobia, but an outrageous distortion of the truth. On Tuesday, the head of the Buddhist Traditional Sangha of Russia - XXIV Pandito Khambo Lama Damba Ayusheyev said that "our people are not cruel, they just have to defend their homeland from fascism repeatedly and with dignity."
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Based on materials from TASS