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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Moscow will not abandon Orthodox Christians in Ukraine and will fight to restore the rights of the Orthodox Church.
Lavrov made the comments during an Easter reception, with his speech broadcast on the Foreign Ministry’s social media channels.
Notably, his remarks came in the context of discussing a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Ukraine.
“Following his talks with Trump, Putin reaffirmed Russia’s commitment to a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine. Russia will not leave Orthodox people in Ukraine in distress and will fight for the restoration of the rights of the Orthodox Church,” Lavrov said.
He further claimed that Ukrainian authorities are persecuting the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC).
“There is an ongoing wave of church seizures, vandalism, and attacks on priests and parishioners,” the minister said.
It’s worth noting that Russian President Vladimir Putin has not mentioned the UOC in his own statements about ending the war, though he has spoken of the need to eliminate the “root causes of the Ukrainian crisis,” which Moscow defines as Kyiv’s anti-Russian course and its aspiration to join NATO.
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