“I would like to very briefly describe the sanctions against Russia as, first of all, unjust and, secondly, illegal,” Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia said during a meeting in Moscow with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.
At the same time, “every cloud has a silver lining,” Kirill said.
“We’ve needed this experience to be able to see our need to count on our own resources. So today many people who work in industry or agriculture in Russia, who have begun to invest in the real sector, hope very much that there will be an opportunity in Russia to make full use of what is being opened up for our industry and agriculture as a result of those sanctions,” the patriarch said.
Western nations “are not only trying to put limits on the economic potential of Russia but are also putting limits on Russia’s participation in the world economy, and so these sanctions are damaging not only to Russia but also to its partners abroad,” he said.
He praised Tsipras for repeated criticism of the sanctions.
