Moscow, November 15, 2010
Lebanese Prime Minister Sa'ad al-Din al-Hariri has called on the Russian Orthodox Church to assist with the establishment of a Palestinian state.
"We would like your church to help solve the conflict over Holy Land and Palestine. Palestinians must be able to return home and have a state with the capital in Jerusalem," al-Hariri told Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia in Moscow on Monday.
If that happens, "a lot of factors giving rise to terrorism, extremism and bad relations between religions will be gone," he said.
The Middle East conflict is the central problem of the region for everyone, "including Muslims, Christians and Judaists," al-Hariri said.
Lebanon adheres to the peaceful coexistence of Christians and Muslims, which is regulated with laws and agreements that have stopped the feud, he said.
All the leading religious communities "take part in state administration" and it is important that they realize both their rights and responsibilities for the future of the country," he said.
"I believe that the coexistence of Muslims and Christians is absolutely necessary for Lebanon as the only way to prevent the country from falling and burying people under its debris," the Premier said.
