Pope Francis criticizes the West for its recent intervention in Afghanistan-inadvertently quoted Vladimir Putin In doing so.
In an extensive interview Spanish radio station COPE, After the United States and its allies withdrew from Afghanistan after 20 years of war, the pope was asked what he thought of the redrawn political map of Afghanistan.
The Pope said that he was moved by a word from the German Chancellor. Angela MerkelHe described him as “one of the greatest political figures in the world.”
He said that he will try to translate this sentence into Spanish: “It is necessary to end irresponsible policies, that is, to intervene from the outside and build democracy in other countries, ignoring the traditions of the people.”
Although this sentence can be explained, he said, in Merkel’s words, he “felt a kind of wisdom.”
However, these remarks were not made by Merkel, but by the request made by the Russian President last month. Nations stop interfering in Afghanistan During the Prime Minister’s recent visit to Moscow.
During the visit, Mark the end Regarding one of Europe’s most complex and politically tense relations, Putin called on the West to “stop the irresponsible policies that impose foreign values from abroad” and described the efforts to support the former Afghan government as “an attempt to establish democracy in other countries. “To foreign templates”.
In a press conference with Putin, Merkel admitted that efforts to let the Afghan people plan their future together have not been realized. “I must say that in our development cooperation efforts, we don’t want to force any system Afghanistan,” she says.
“But we see millions of girls who are happy to go to school, and women can participate in it. There are many people in Afghanistan who are very, very dissatisfied with the current developments,” she added.
In an interview with the Pope broadcast on Wednesday after being recorded in the Vatican later last week, Francis said that as Western allies leave Afghanistan, it seems that “all possibilities have not been considered.”
“I don’t know if there will be an audit [of what happened], But surely a lot of deception may be part of the new authority [of Afghanistan]”,” he said. “I’m talking about deceit or innocence, I don’t understand. “
He called on Christians to “prayer, confess, and fast” and described these actions as needed in such “times of crisis.”
The radio station, owned by the Spanish Catholic Bishops’ Conference, said before an interview that the pope has had the opportunity to censor the content before it airs.
The Vatican did not respond to a request for comment.
