Patriarch Yazigi: No Distinction between Christians, Moslems in Syria

 MOSCOW -The Russian policy under President Vladimir Putin leadership won’t allow any foreign intervention in the Syrian affairs, said Head of the Russian Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko during her meeting yesterday in Moscow with Patriarch Youhanna X Yazigi of Antioch and All East for the Greek Orthodox.

Matviyenko stressed her country’s support for a peaceful solution to the crisis in Syria based on comprehensive dialogue and away from any foreign intervention.

“Russia does not see any solution for the crisis in Syria except the peaceful one,” she said, pointing out that the Russian humanitarian aid will continue to be provided to the Syrian people.

Matviyenko regretted the kidnapping of the two Aleppo bishops and the Ma’loula nuns by the terrorist extremist groups, stressing that the ongoing terrorist attacks can be stopped only if the international community unifies efforts to solve the crisis in Syria through political means.

She warned that the tragic events in Syria will expose the entire region to the danger of eliminating a more than 2000 years old civilization, reiterating that Russia won’t allow the Christian presence in the region to be threatened.

The Russian official condemned the extremists’ terrorist attacks on a sovereign country and its holy places.

She stressed that Syria and Russia are linked by strong and deeply-rooted friendship, “so Russia, from the very beginning of events in Syria, backed the Syrian people and followed up the developments on ground with great interest.”

Patriarch Yazigi, for his part, highly appreciated the Russian stance which aims at attaining peace in the Middle East and the entire world and helps enhancing bilateral ties between the two countries and between the Russian Church and the Antioch Church in Syria.

Yazigi reiterated the need to insist on guaranteeing the Christian presence in the region, pointing out that “peace in the region, as we see, means to have Moslems, Christians and all spectra of society living together in peace and coexistence.”  

The Patriarch stressed “we, in Syria, don’t distinguish between the Christian religion and Islam. We think that religion unifies people and doesn’t call for extremism and divisions.”

He pointed out that some strangers infiltrated into the Syrian society, exploiting religion to sew sedition seeds and divide the society through using sacred slogans like “freedom of speech, democracy and human rights”, but what really happened was strange to the Syrian society and has led to destruction not to amity and construction.

H. Mustafa