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The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill blessing the faithful during his visit to the Monastery of Caves in Svyatogorsk in the eastern Ukraine's region of Donetsk, on Thursday, July 30. AP Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill has called on Russia and Ukraine to strengthen solidarity and cooperation in economic relations.

"We should associate with each other and support each other, in particular during the economic crisis. I believe that hand in hand, like brothers, we will be able to overcome these economic hardships," the patriarch said while addressing the miners at the village of Horlivka, Donetsk region.

Standing on the sacred land of Donbas, we cannot ignore the issue of relations between Russia and Ukraine as this is a common space of the Holy Rus, as well as Belarus and many other states, the patriarch said.

"We are a single people who originated from a single baptistery in Kyiv. We have different languages, customs and temperaments, but we are guided by common values in our life. And this means the spiritual unity," the head of the Russian Orthodox Church said.

The Church has a duty to promote "a union of all brotherly nations," the patriarch said.

"The Church will do everything to develop spiritual and other relations, including economic and cultural cooperation in the sphere of education and science. Unity is good, and division is s sin and is bad for people," Patriarch Kirill said.