President Volodymyr Zelensky met with representatives of churches and religious organizations of Ukraine on the eve of Normandy Four summit, the press service of the head of state reported.
The President thanked hierarchs for their joint address to the inhabitants of the temporary occupied territories and for the work they do for Ukraine.
“We are different, we have different denominations, churches, mosques, synagogues and more. And that’s okay, because we have a big, very beautiful, sometimes with difficulties, but our beloved country. I believe in you,” Zelensky said.
The President emphasized that on the eve of the summit it was very important for him to hear their advice.
Representatives of churches and religious organizations, in their turn, noted that they were praying for peace in Ukraine, and wished the President strength, patience and God’s blessing in the Normandy format negotiations.
“A person’s life cannot be justified or redeemed by anything. It is the most valuable in the whole world. We grateful to you for starting this peacekeeping mission and understand that it is a difficult process. But it had to be started – the process cannot succeed unless someone starts it,” Metropolitan of the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate Onufriy said.
According to Onufriy, all issues should be resolved through dialog. He also asked for assistance in resolving issues of the persecution of parishioners and court decisions on churches in the occupied Crimea and in Donbas.
Major Archbishop the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church Sviatoslav noted that Ukraine is a democratic state where everyone is free – regardless of religion.
Zelensky at the end of the meeting assured of readiness to meet and solve problems.
As The Journalist reported, Zelensky hopes for ‘all for all’ prisoner swap by the end of 2019.
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