March 11, 2024 (EIRNS)—In his call for negotiations, Pope Francis is not speaking to Kiev, but to the West, which is using Ukraine as “a tool” for its “ambitions,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Italian news agency ANSA on March 10, in response to a question about the Pope’s appeal to Kiev. “The way I see it, the Pope is asking the West to put aside its ambitions and admit that it was wrong,” she replied. As for Russia, “we have never blocked the negotiations,” Zakharova said.