VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis had no intention of glorifying past Russian imperialism in a speech last week to Russian youths that has come under fire in Ukraine, the Vatican said on Tuesday.

"The Pope intended to encourage young people to preserve and promote all that is positive in the great Russian cultural and spiritual heritage, and certainly not to exalt imperialist logic and government personalities, mentioned to indicate some historical periods of reference," the Vatican said in a statement.

(Reporting by Alvise Armellini, Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)