By Theodore Shoebat
Patriarch Kirill of Russia declared that Trump is the only American leader that gives hope for Christians in fighting off the Islamic State, a great persecutor of Christians. According to one report:
Patriarch Kirill, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, has said that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is the only American politician to give Russians, and Christians, hope in successfully fighting off the Islamic State terror group.
Kirill made the remarks in an interview with Russia Today, translated into English, where he said that although he doesn’t know Trump personally, he has been encouraged by his strong stance against terrorism.
“Based on what Mr. Trump said in the course of the election campaign, we can see that he does have the intention to establish a dialogue with Russia, including first and foremost when it comes to combating terrorism. That’s good; it opens up new opportunities for cooperation, which is what I hope we’re going to have in Russia-U.S. relations in order to tackle this,” Kirill said.
He added that he “can’t really say” much about Trump beyond that.
“I don’t know him personally, and I don’t know much about his life, so I can only judge based on his statements, which were in stark contrast to other politicians’ stances. There was no hope in what others were saying, while Mr. Trump’s words give us hope,” he added, referring to Trump’s stated commitment to combat Islamic terror at home and abroad.
Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have vowed to work together to defeat IS, the terror group that has held territory in Iraq and Syria since 2014. The U.S. president-elect has suggested that there will be much warmer relations with Russia under his administration than during outgoing President Obama’s administration.