Patriarch Kirill of Moscow
South African President Jacob Zuma and Russian President Vladimir Putin both offered their condolences. Patriarch Kirill of Moscow wrote that "it was with heartache that I heard the news that hundreds of people who were on a pilgrimage to Mecca were killed and injured". United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron wrote on Twitter that his "thoughts and prayers are with those who have lost loved ones at Mecca today". United States Secretary of State John Kerry issued a statement that the United States stood with Saudi Arabia and "all Muslims around the world in the aftermath of this dreadful incident at one of Islam's holiest sites".