In an interview with an Italian newspaper runMikhail Podolyak, one of the most prominent advisers to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, He shared his views on the ongoing peace process between Ukraine and Russia.

Podolyak began by highlighting the difficulty of negotiating with Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he called a “criminal.” According to him, Putin is not only an unsuitable negotiating partner, but also a hypocrite who uses Ukraine’s readiness for dialogue as a weakness that can be exploited. He insisted that any possibility of negotiation is excluded because of the destructive nature and violations of international law committed by Putin.

But the most striking statements in the interview were related to Pope Francis and his praise of Russian history. The Pontiff recently praised such Russian figures as Peter the Great and Empress Catherine.

When asked what Pope Francis said, Podolyak replied that it was “destructive speech for humanism modern”.

Zelensky’s adviser claimed that with his words, the Pope indirectly supported “aggressive imperialism” and “misanthropic ideology” Vladimir Putin.

“If we evaluate the words of the Pope with an open mind, we will see that they are unconditional support for aggressive imperialism, praising the bloodthirsty idea of ​​the “Russian world”, which implies the brutal destruction of the freedoms and lifestyles of others. Francis is calling mePutin’s misanthropic ideologyhis obsession with genocide,” he said.

In addition, Podolyak accused Pope Francis of Russian propaganda tool in praise of the mentioned historical figures.

“It seems that the pontiff has again found himself Russian propaganda tool“, said.