Catholic leader of Syrian calls on the West to stop funding the armed opposition

The head of the Syrian Catholic Church Ignatius Joseph III urged Western countries to stop funding the militants in Syria and to lift the sanctions against the country, reports Interfax with reference to Vatican Radio.

"I still hope that Western countries, Western politicians will agree to stop funding and arming (militants in Syria – Ed.), because otherwise the civil war will not cease," said the Catholic leader.

He also appealed "to lift the embargo, sanctions against Syria," noting that they are "detrimental to the population."

Joseph III also expressed concern for the fate of the kidnapped by Syrian opposition militants in April 2013 near Aleppo Metropolitan Paul of Aleppo, a brother of Patriarch John X of Antioch, and Syro-Jacobite Metropolitan John Ibrahim of Aleppo.

He said that they have never been heard of so far.