Pope Francis, during his flight back from the Kingdom of Bahrain, held a press conference on the aircraft board, Vatican news reports. The pontiff said that he appreciates the Russian people and considers them great.
“I have high esteem for the Russian people, for Russian humanism. Just think of Dostoevsky, who to this day inspires us, inspires Christians to think of Christianity. I have great affection for the Russian people and I also have great affection for the Ukrainian people,<…> I am in the midst of two peoples that I love,” said pontiff.
The Pope also mentioned the conflict in Ukraine directly, he said that he does not believe in the cruelty of the Russian people, therefore he believes that the «mercenaries, the soldiers who go off to war as an adventure» are responsible for that. The Pontiff said that the day after the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, he visited Russian embassy in the Vatican, expressed his desire to visit Russia, and also spoke twice on the phone with the President of Ukraine.
«And work is being done to get closer, to seek solutions. The Holy See also does what it has to do with regard to prisoners, these things… they are things that are always done and the Holy See has always done them, always.» he stressed.