Head Of Russian Orthodox Church Refutes Christian-moslem Conflict

It is incorrect to think that terrorist acts could initiate global confrontation between the Christian and Moslem worlds, said Alexis II, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, at a meeting with leaders of the All-Russian Azerbaijan Congress in Moscow Tuesday. The patriarch stressed that "it is wrong to divide nations into inferior and superior ones and support the ideology of ethnic supremacy." According to him, the Russian Orthodox Church has a history of many centuries of ties with Azerbaijan. It continues to maintain its ties with Azeris that live both in Azerbaijan and Russia. The patriarch spoke highly of efforts of the former chairman of the Council of the Caucasian Peoples, Sheikh ul-Islam Pasha-zade, to settle the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. "Thanks to his efforts, political confrontation did not aggravate to a religious conflict," Alexis II believes. He also mentioned that Patriarch Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin the Second is ready to participate in solving the Nagorny-Karabakh issues.