Bishop wants Coventry to continue Volgograd twinning

The Right Reverend Dr Christopher Cocksworth said war was "the most awful, dreadful thing"

The Bishop of Coventry has said he wants the city to continue its twinning relationship with Volgograd in Russia, in spite of the war in the Ukraine.

The Right Reverend Dr Christopher Cocksworth said he hoped to use it to tell their "Russian friends" about "our horror at what is happening".

He made the comments after the Coventry City of Culture Trust decided to postpone a joint arts project.

The trust said it was "the right course of action for now".

The Volgograd Digital Tablecloth has been in production since 2019 and is a tapestry made from pictures donated by people living in both cities, showing life through their eyes.

It was intended to commemorate an act of solidarity between the two cities 80 years ago, when the women of Coventry embroidered a tablecloth to raise money for, and to show their support for, the people of Volgograd.

Asked whether the twinning arrangement should be suspended, in the light of the Russian invasion of the Ukraine, the Bishop replied: "I don't think it should end it, but I think we need to use that twinning relationship to bring to the attention of our Russian friends the seriousness of the current situation and our horror at what is happening."

He said that not only included the Ukrainian people, but also "the Russian soldiers who are caught up in this".

"I feel for their families, who will be burying their dead, as the Ukrainian people who are suffering so much," he said.

He said war was "the most awful, dreadful thing" and added: "We thought we would never see anything like this again".

Coventry has had a relationship with Volgograd since the Second World War

Coventry is coming to the end of its celebrations to mark its status as UK City of Culture.

The Coventry City of Culture Trust said the city was "known around the world as a city of peace and reconciliation".

It said its links with Volgograd were testament to that, but it had taken the decision to postpone the public display of the tablecloth.

The trust said: "This is absolutely no reflection on those involved in the project, but we feel this is the right course of action for now."