On July 24, within the framework of the fourth day of the meeting of heads of foreign diplomatic missions chaired by Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha, a meeting was conducted between the Ukrainian diplomatic corps and the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations, with the participation of Deputy Head of the Office of the President Olena Kovalskaya and the Head of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience Viktor Yelenskyi.

The participants discussed support for believers abroad, freedom of religion and joint efforts in international information and educational work.

In his speech, the minister noted that this was the first meeting of its kind in the history of the foreign policy department and stressed the importance of establishing such a tradition anongoing dialogue.

The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized the important role of churches and religious organizations at a time when more than seven million Ukrainians are abroad. He assured the readiness of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to develop cooperation in order to support Ukrainian communities abroad.

Andriy Sybiha specifically mentioned the persecution and repressions by Russian invaders which affect representatives of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Protestant communities, the Roman and Greek Catholic Churches, Muslim organizations, as well as those representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church who disagree with the occupation regime. Criminal cases are being fabricated against them, searches are being conducted, threats and physical pressure are being exerted.

Andriy Sybiha recalled. that since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russian troops have killed 67 clergymen of various denominations in Ukraine and damaged or destroyed more than 640 religious buildings, including 596 Christian churches. Russian occupation forces are also illegally detaining more than 30 religious activists.

“Russia is systematically pressuring religious communities in the occupied Ukrainian territories. The occupier's goal is to destroy religious diversity and suppress Ukrainian spiritual heritage. Special international attention is needed to stop these Russian crimes,” he said.

According to the minister, since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian churches and religious organizations have become an integral part of the defense of our state, carrying out active spiritual, chaplaincy, humanitarian, social, and international advocacy activities.

“The Council is making a significant contribution by countering Russian aggression and its destructive effects. Your advocacy for Ukraine abroad and your efforts to convey the truth about Russian aggression to the international community demonstrate the great potential of religious diplomacy,” the minister noted.

Representatives of churches and religious associations expressed their readiness to develop cooperation and communication during participation in international forums and contacts with partners at the bilateral level.

The participants of the panel discussion spoke in favor of joint efforts to convey truthful and objective information about Russia's crimes against freedom of conscience, its violation of the rights and freedoms of believers of various faiths, and its oppression and persecution of religious organizations and clergy.

Deputy Head of the Office of the President Olena Kovalska emphasized that the Head of State attaches great importance to the development of state-church dialogue and interaction with leading churches and religious organizations.

“The state and the church in our country are not connected de jure, but they are connected spiritually. And our cooperation with the Council of Churches and religious organizations over the past year has shown real results in terms of the assistance of religious leaders in our international policy,” Olena Kovalska noted.

She also recalled the practice of holding national prayer breakfasts, which are an important factor in international contacts with representatives of different faiths, politicians, parliamentarians, and public figures.

The Head of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience, Viktor Yelenskyi, told the meeting participants about the international community awareness of recent legislative initiatives aimed at protecting spirituality.

He reported on the implementation of the Law of Ukraine “On the Protection of the Constitutional Order in the Sphere of Religious Organizations” and the completion of the DESC's religious studies expertise on establishing the affiliation of one of the Ukrainian churches with a foreign religious organization whose activities are prohibited in Ukraine.

The participants discussed ways to further develop the state-confessional partnership and identified priority steps for establishing effective cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and the AUCCRO.