Pope Francis did not intend "to exalt imperialist logic," the Vatican said Tuesday, after a speech delivered on Friday drew criticism for references to Russia's imperialist past.
"You are heirs of the great Russia — the great Russia of the saints, of kings, the great Russia of Peter the Great, of Catherine II, the great Russian empire, cultured, so much culture, so much humanity," Pope Francis said in the Friday speech, as translated and transcribed by NewsFromUkraine.
The pope delivered the prepared speech in his native Spanish, before making these off-script comments in Italian.
The pope has previously repeatedly called for a cease-fire in the war in Ukraine and spoken against Russia's actions in the conflict.
Zelenskyy expressed gratitude to the religious leader for "his personal attention to the tragedy of millions of Ukrainians."
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