Russia and Egypt 'on the same path' to harmony among the faiths - Putin

CAIRO, February 10. /TASS/. Inter-faith harmony is a priority for the Christian church in modern Egypt, Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria told President Vladimir Putin in an audience, Moscow's visitor observing his host treading the same path Russia has travelled in its centuries-old quest for concord among the confessions. Special relationships had been formed between different faiths in Russia based on mutual respect down the years, Putin said after the ethnic Greek patriarch had welcomed the Kremlin leader's intent to foster relations between Russia and Greece. Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had the same philosophy, Putin said, reflecting on talks with one of the first Egyptian leaders to visit the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. "I know that the current Egyptian leadership takes the same position," the president observed. "I hope that by following this course of action together, by professing such an approach to relationships between people and representatives of different religions, we will join our efforts in fighting for our common moral values and ideals," he added. Read more