Patriarch Kirill of Moscow received the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iraq to the Russian Federation, Abdul-Karim Hashim Mustafa, at the Patriarchal Residence in the Danilov Monastery on May 28, 2026.
Welcoming the diplomat, Patriarch Kirill highlighted the historically strong relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Islamic world. He noted that Russia is home to a large Muslim community and emphasized that Orthodox Christians and Muslims in the country have lived together peacefully throughout history, including during the hardships of World War II, when they jointly fought against fascism.
The Patriarch also pointed to the Church’s longstanding ties with Muslim communities across the Middle East, Egypt, and other countries, expressing hope that the ambassador’s service in Russia would further strengthen relations between the two nations.
For his part, Ambassador Mustafa thanked the Patriarch for the opportunity to meet and reflected on the decades-long relationship between Iraq and Russia. He noted the historical ties between Iraq and the former Soviet Union and welcomed the continued development of political and economic cooperation between the two countries.
The ambassador also emphasized the importance of Iraq’s Christian community alongside its Muslim majority and expressed hope for the continued presence and flourishing of the Abrahamic faiths in Iraq. He further spoke about the Assyrian Church of the East community in Russia, many of whose members trace their roots to families that fled persecution in the Ottoman Empire a century ago.
