In voting Donald Trump as their next president, the American people have
made a choice "for change”, according to the head of the External
Relations Department of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Hilarion.
Speaking in an interview with Interfax he reflected on the result of
the elections in the United States, where the campaign was characterized
by a strong Russian presence, accused of interfering in a different
way, in the appointment at the polls.
Hilarion stressed that "the presidential elections are a domestic affair
of the USA ", but revealed he had followed the Election Day in the US
media such as CNN, "with great interest", where "the commentators were
shocked and tried to find an explanation "to the fact that the victory
of the Republican candidate over Hillary Clinton was materializing.
"Someone blamed the FBI director, others said that the culprit was
Russia," said the Metropolitan, referring to allegations by several
parties that Moscow hired hackers to discredit Clinton and her party.
But according to the head of the Russian Patriarchate diplomacy, the
most important aspect of this election is "the Middle East question." "
American policy in the Middle East, starting from the overthrow of
Saddam Hussein and to the recent events in Syria, was, in my view,
shortsighted and wrong. Overthrowing the regimes that existed in the
Middle Eastern countries one after another, allegedly in the name of
democracy, America did not lead the region to democracy or prosperity.
On the contrary, it provoked chaos, mass exodus of civilians, genocide
of ethnic and religious minorities. Terrorists from the so-called
"Islamic State" would not be so successful in Syria and Iraq if they
did not get international support".
According to the Metropolitan, "Trump spoke about all these things
directly and clearly. He criticized the American government for his
Middle Eastern policy, for giving up alliance relations with Russia. And
the people of America heard him".
Despite overtures to Moscow expressed - so far in words - by the
president elect, Hilarion called for "not to fall into euphoria". " Time
will show what kind of president he will be, whether he will fulfill
the promises that he gave during the election campaign. But his election
gives hope for improvement of the entire system of international
relations, for the creation of a unified global coalition against
terrorism".
Immediately after the victory of Trump, Patriarch of Moscow Kirill, sent
his congratulations to the newly elected Head of State. "The world -
Kirill writes in his message - is facing serious challenges today, and
the United States of America have an important role to play in
responding to them. It is only through the concerted efforts that people
can oppose extremism and terrorism and defend the fundamental values of
the lofty moral ideals, upon which the human rights and dignity are
based".
Donald Trump is a Christian Presbyterian. In his staff that took him to
victory, included several Protestant and Orthodox Christians.