On 22 June 2017, the first consignment of humanitarian aid for the suffering population of Syria, collected with the assistance of the Working group of Russia’s Presidential Council for Cooperation with Religious Organizations, was sent to Syria.

The cargo, of some 20 tonnes, consisted of foodstuffs and essential medical supplies. On June 22, it was put on board of an aircraft of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and the same day late at night it arrived in the Hmeimyn airport. On June 23 and 24, the foodstuff kits will be distributed among the population of Latakia and Aleppo by the Russian centre for the reconciliation of conflicting parties in Syria. The medicaments will be delivered to these cities’ hospitals.

The funds for the project were raised by each of the Christian and Muslim community of Russia represented in the Working group of the Presidential Council for Cooperation with Religious Organizations. The major contribution came from His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. In May 2017, His Holiness blessed the Moscow parishes to donate to the project the money that they were going to spend on purchasing flowers to be presented to His Holiness on his Name Day. The Russian Orthodox Church is the chief curator of the project which gathered together the largest religious communities of Russia.

On June 23 2017, the members of the Working group will hold round-table consultations in Beirut with representatives of religious communities of Syria. (Quelle: www.mospat.ru, 23. Juni 2017)