On December 15, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Moscow received an apology from the Vatican through diplomatic channels for incorrect statements about Chechens and Buryats.

"Literally at this hour, through diplomatic channels, an appeal was received from the Vatican, which contains an official statement on behalf of the Secretary of State of the Holy See, Pietro Parolin, in connection with the statement of the pontiff," the diplomat added.

According to her, after receiving an apology from the Holy See, the Foreign Ministry considers the incident settled. "The ministry is counting on a further constructive partnership with the Vatican," the Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman stated.

Earlier, Caucasus Watch reported that Pope Francis called the Chechens and Buryats the most brutal part of the Russian troops in Ukraine. "When I talk about Ukraine, I am talking about a nation that is martyred. If you have people who are martyrs, you have someone who is torturing them. As a rule, the cruelest are perhaps those who are from Russia but are not of the Russian tradition, such as Chechens, Buryats, and so on," the pontiff said.