Russia is preparing a conference on defense of Christians in the world this autumn, by Pravoslavie.ru.

This autumn Russia will hold the second conference on defense of Christians in the world, the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said … reports the TASS news agency. …

“Let us be honest; today Christians in the Middle East region are suffering very serious persecutions, especially in Syria and Iraq. In these countries their number has dwindled dramatically.”

In his view, the exodus of Christians from the region that is the cradle of Christianity “would be, beyond all doubt, an enormous tragedy in the history — for the spiritual side of the Holy Land as well as the whole of the Middle East.”

hat-tip Stephen Neil