Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia has expressed his support to Cypriots and Greeks suffering following the economic crisis on the divided island. At an annual dinner the Patriarch hosted at the weekend at the Greek Embassy in Moscow, he was quoted as saying that "it hurts to see thousands of our Cypriot brothers being hostage of the collapse of banking sector and having to accept the proposals of international financial institutions for financial assistance."At the same time he praised the social role of the Greek Church at times of crisis and referred to the economic contribution that the Russian church provides.
