VATICAN, February 13. /TASS/. In Thursday’s interview with Vatican News, Chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate's Department for External Church Relations Metropolitan Hilarion has called on all Catholic and Orthodox people of the world to establish a strategic alliance against the persecution of Christians.

"Genocide of Christians is underway in the Middle East. For a long time, Western politicians and Western media have chosen to gloss over this genocide. Notably, it was the Pope and the Patriarch who raised the alarm - first separately, then together - telling the world about what is happening to Christians in the Middle East. To my mind, this situation calls for cooperation between Orthodox and Catholic people. I would call this union a strategic alliance," he said.

The metropolitan added that according to experts, Christianity is not only the most numerous, but also the most persecuted religion in the world. "In many regions of the world, Christianity finds itself in a hostile environment. In order to save the Christian faith, we must work together," Hilarion said. He noted that the Russian Orthodox Church shares the concern of Pope Francis, which was one of the reasons for the meeting between the Pope and the Russian Patriarch four years ago.

The church official noted that the fight against the persecution of Christians is one of the key areas of Russian foreign policy. "Our patriarch discusses this at every meeting with every foreign politician. He has repeatedly raised this issue with President Putin. Currently, the support of Christians in the Middle East is one of the key areas of Russian foreign policy. We must do everything in our power to maintain the presence of Christians in the Middle East," he concluded.