Avdeyev recalled that Pope Francis, leader of the Catholic Church, in one of his recent statements, said that the status quo of Jerusalem, which is a place of pilgrimage and worship for Jews, Christians and Muslims, should be respected.

The ambassador told Sputnik, “This is a city of three Abrahamic religions and it should not be politicised by recognition as a capital.

“I draw attention to the fact that this statement was made by the Pope, who usually expresses his position very carefully in order not to offend anyone.

“So we can see a clear disagreement with the U.S. decision here. We have the similar position.”

The diplomat also said that Russia and the Vatican share similar views on the world and the threats posed to it in the 21st century.

“We have much in common in our vision of the threats and dangers of the 21st century. This is an important issue that unites us.

“First of all, I speak about the threat of any terrorism, criminal, religious or separatist one. The second threat is the weakening of non-proliferation regimes.

“Of particular concern is the drug trafficking and the separation into rich and poor in the world”.

The ambassador added that the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church were concerned over the destruction of the moral and ethical values of the Christian civilisation.