Patriarch Kirill points to the development of dialogue with international organizations

"Taking into consideration the increasing number of decisions important to the entire humanity taken by the UN and other international structures, it is necessary that we, together with non-Orthodox Christians and other traditional religious communities are to strive for the situation in which the positions of believers will be taken into account, when the problems on the global agenda are discussed," His Holiness Patriarch Kirill underscored in his address presented at the Bishops' Conference held in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour on 2 February 2010.

His Holiness noted that for this objective the Russian Church is working at the initiative in setting up a consultative group of high-ranking religious leaders at the UNESCO Director General. This group should become an effective mechanism for participation of religious communities in the discussion of topical problems of the present time.

"We continue our versatile cooperation with the UN, the European Union, the OSCE, and the Council of Europe, by taking part in the discussion of the matters important to us conducted in these organizations," His Holiness Patriarch Kirill said and added that his recent meeting with the newly elected Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjørn Jagland has shown a great potential of cooperation between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Council of Europe.

Source: www.mospat.ru