#3
BBC Monitoring
Russia's Putin confirms loyalty to democracy, religious
tolerance
Source: Russian Public TV (ORT), Moscow, in Russian 0900 gmt 13 Dec 01
President Putin has spoken in favour of building of a democratic, fair and safe world system. Addressing the 6th World Russian People's Synod in Moscow, he also urged society to reject xenophobia, violence and all that feeds the ideology of terrorism. He said barbarism and the desire to fan a conflict of civilizations and religions should be opposed by spirituality and tolerance. The following is the text of a report by Russian Public TV on 13 December:
[Presenter] The 6th World Russian People's Synod has opened in Moscow. Orthodox and Muslim clergymen, as well as the country's leading politicians, gathered in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow this morning. Several minute ago, the Russian president addressed them. Our correspondent Anatoliy Lazarev has the details. Anatoliy?
[Correspondent] The World Russian People's Synod is being held for the sixth time now, but for the first time it is being held in the restored Cathedral of Christ the Saviour and for the first time President Putin is attending it.
The current synod can be described by the following phrase: Russia, faith and civilization - the dialogue of epochs.
Opening the synod, Patriarch Aleksiy II of Moscow and all Russia said the humanity's morals and world outlook are in crisis. At the end of the 20th century, people were looking with good intentions at the new century. However, evil forces triumphed on 11 September, the patriarch said. Therefore, the main task of the synod is to find a philosophic answer to the question: What has happened in the world and why has it changed so drastically?
Addressing the synod delegates, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the fight against terrorism was not just counterterrorist operations, military strikes and aircraft. Terrorism and all its manifestations should be countered by spirituality and tolerance. And Russia is playing a leading role in the world in that respect, the president said.
[Putin] The 11 September events not just shook the world. They not just changed the world and reminded us all how fragile it is. They also made us ponder about the huge responsibility which we all bear, responsibility for the future in our efforts to build a democratic, fair and safe world system. I am convinced that it is not enough for states to pool efforts in order to build such a system. We need society's unity in its rejection of xenophobia and violence, and of all that feeds the ideology of terrorism. We must counter barbarism and the desire to fan a conflict of civilizations and religions with spirituality and tolerance.
Russia has always been a country of a multitude of unique national cultures and religions. Russia united and unites the peoples of Europe and Asia. It unites Orthodoxy and Islam, Buddhism and Judaism. Precisely this is the source of our homeland's wealth and spiritual strength.
[Correspondent] The synod will last two days. The president emphasized that the voices and opinions of its delegates are now particularly important and needed.
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