The Ukrainian president, Volodymir Zelensky, called on the G7 countries to supply more weapons to Ukraine during his remote intervention at the meeting of the Seven in virtual format.
"I'm afraid the Chechen and Buryat brothers, besides me, would not appreciate it. As far as I remember, there were no words of apology from the Vatican."
Thus, with a reference to the accusations of cruelty against Buryat and Chechen soldiers in Ukraine formulated in recent days by Pope Francis, the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova, rejected the proposal by Cardinal Pietro Parolin to host talks between Moscow and Kiev in the Vatican.
"We are available, I think the Vatican is the right terrain. We have tried to offer the possibility of meeting everyone and to maintain a balance. We offer a space in which the parties can meet and start a dialogue. It is up to them to identify the working methodology and contents" , said the Vatican secretary of state, answering questions about the war in Ukraine,
on the sidelines of the presentation to the Senate of the book "Giorgio La Pira: the chapters of a life". "We must hope against all hope - he then added to the Sir agency - even if for now I don't see any positive glimmers".
Moscow's response was not long in coming and did not leave it much room for manoeuvre.
"I'm afraid the Chechen and Buryat brothers, as well as myself, would not appreciate it. As far as I remember, there have been no words of apology from the Vatican," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova responded, Tass reported.
Moscow's response was not long in coming and did not leave it much room for manoeuvre.
"I'm afraid the Chechen and Buryat brothers, as well as myself, would not appreciate it. As far as I remember, there have been no words of apology from the Vatican," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova responded, Tass reported.
Moscow's response was not long in coming and did not leave it much room for manoeuvre.
"I'm afraid the Chechen and Buryat brothers, as well as myself, would not appreciate it. As far as I remember, there have been no words of apology from the Vatican," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova responded, Tass reported.
The Vatican's proposal comes the day after the phone call between Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky and Joe Biden.
The US president spoke of recent US aid packages to Kiev, noting that the US is "prioritizing efforts to strengthen Ukraine's air defense" as Russian attacks on its crucial infrastructure continue.
Attacks also continued last night while in the early hours of the morning air alarms sounded in the capital and in the Kiev region and in various regions of the country including Cherkassk, Vinnitsa, Kirovograd, Nikolayev, Zhitomir, Odessa and Kharkov.
For the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, the hypothesis of a complete blackout following the Russian bombing, at this point, "is quite realistic, but the unstable situation will not push the Ukrainians to leave the country".
Moscow's no also comes on the eve of the international conference in Paris in support of the civil resistance of Ukraine.