Syrian president underscores church’s role in fostering unity

By Laith Al-jnaidi and Rania Abu Shamala

DAMASCUS/ISTANBUL (AA) – Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa on Saturday stressed the role of the church in strengthening bonds of citizenship and unity, and preserving civil peace.

The remarks came during his meeting at the People’s Palace in Damascus with John X Yazigi, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East of the Greek Orthodox Church, the highest Christian clerical figure in Syria.

In a statement on the US social media company X, the presidency said the two sides stressed the importance of the church’s role in “consolidating and boosting the bonds of citizenship and national unity, contributing to the preservation of civil peace and establishing its foundations on firm bases of understanding and fraternity among the people of the same homeland.”

The meeting came days after the Syrian Interior Ministry said that it had foiled a “terrorist” plot by groups linked to the former regime of Bashar al-Assad targeting St. Elias Church in the western province of Tartus.

Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia in December, ending the Baath Party regime, which had been in power since 1963. A new transitional administration led by Sharaa was formed in January.