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Middle East and North Africa

Russian patriarch arrives in Syria on visit

The patriarch will meet with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to call for the speediest stabilisation and national reconciliation in the country

MOSCOW, November 12 (Itar-Tass) —— Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia arrived in Syria on a visit on Saturday, November 12.

From the airport, the patriarch headed for Damascus’s Assumption Cathedral to lead a prayer. Kirill has arrived in Syria at a hard time marked by months of mass riots that have claimed some 4,000 lives. A hope for the end of the crisis appeared only recently after the adoption by the League of Arab States of a “road map” that envisions measures aimed at restoring confidence and fostering a dialogue between the sides.

The patriarch will meet with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to call for the speediest stabilisation and national reconciliation in the country.

Apart from contacts and joint service with Patriarch Ignatius IV, Kirill will also have talks with Syria's Grand Mufti Shiekh Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun, whose son was killed by brigands two months ago, and confer with Prime Minister Adel Safar and Minister of Awqaf (Religious Endowments) Mohammad Abdul-Sattar al-Sayyed.

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