Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II calls US & Western Powers to Stop Financing Terrorist

Orthodoxy Cognate PAGE November 9, 2015 8:30 pm 3

His Holiness Igantius Aphrem II- Patriarch on the Apostolic Throne of St Peter in Antioch and All East – Primate of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church

Tera Rus (OCP Delegate of Moscow & All Russia)
OCP News Service – 9/11/15

Also Read – Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II arrives in Russia:

Moscow: According to the TASS News Agency, His Holiness Igantius Aphrem II- Patriarch of Antioch and All East – Primate of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church (Oriental Orthodox Communion) has called USA and other Western powers to stop financing terrorist and militant groups in Syria.

“We ask the United States and other nations to stop financing terrorist and extremist groups. Consolidated effort is needed to bring the situation back to normal. We urge all parties to make efforts for a peaceful resolution of the crisis,” the patriarch told the news conference in Moscow. He also said that “big role of external forces that foment the crisis, so we ask to stop financing those who direct their weapons against the Syrian people.”

He also added that “ “We believe that Russia’s involvement in the military operation in Syria will bring hope to the entire Syrian people as we believe that Russia’s role in Syria is the role of the peacekeepers, and the ultimate goal of all Russia’s efforts in the region is the restoration of peace for the entire people,”
The Primate is expected to meet His Holiness Kirill – Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Foreign Minister – Sergei Lavrov and the chairman of foreign policy committee in the State Duma- Dr. Alexei Pushkov.

The visit is considered to be historic as the previous visit by the Patriarch of Antioch of was made in 1988 when the late lamented Patriarch Ignatius Zakka Iwas visited Russia on the occasion of millennium of baptizing of Kiev Rus.