His Excellency Xi Jinping
President
People’s Republic of China
Your Excellency,
With profound grief I have taken the report about the shipwreck on the Yangtze River which has resulted in the deaths and injuries of citizens of your country. The catastrophe has cut short the lives of passengers, a considerable part of them being elderly people. Kindly accept my sincere condolences.
Please convey the words of support and wishes of courage and fortitude in face of this trial to relatives and friends of the victims and to all the people of China.
Respectfully,
+ Kirill
Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia