ULAN-UDE, November 29. /TASS/. Damba Ayusheev, XXIV Pandito Khambo Lama and head of the Buddhist Traditional Sangkha of Russia responded to Pope Francis’ remarks about the "cruelty" of the Buryat people, calling them "unkind" on this Telegram channel.

Earlier, Pope Francis called Chechens and Buryats the "cruelest" part of Russian forces in Ukraine, speaking in an interview for the US media.

"Unexpected and unpredicted, the head of the Catholics of the world had to say unkind words about our people. I think, the European latinians don’t understand that living in the cold Siberia and the Far East makes people more persistent, patient and resilient to various hardships. So our people are not cruel, they simply have to once again protect their Homeland from Nazism, just like our grandfathers and their fathers did," Ayusheev said.

Previously, Head of Buryatia Alexey Tsydenov called the Pope’s remark "strange." He underscored that Russian servicemen protect their country’s interests without fear, with honor and dignity. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the Pope’s remarks are not simply a display of Russophobia, but also an off-the-charts distortion of the truth.