Analyst: Government must change its policy toward UOC before negotiations

Kostiantyn Bondarenko. Photo: screenshot from A. Shelest’s YouTube channel

In an interview with journalist Oleksandr Shelest, political analyst Kostiantyn Bondarenko noted that the issue of the UOC is being actively discussed at the international level, including within American political circles.

Commenting on possible steps the Ukrainian authorities should take on religious matters in the context of potential peace negotiations, the analyst emphasized that concrete measures must be taken to ensure religious freedom.

“It is necessary to repeal those discriminatory laws against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church that were adopted in recent years. This is an important point,” he said.

Bondarenko stressed the need to review the regulations on the basis of which “property was seized from one Church and transferred to other Churches in a completely unlawful manner.”

“All of this needs to be overhauled. It will, of course, take some time, but the starting point must be the repeal of the legislative acts that were adopted in a completely brazen, completely illegal manner and were aimed precisely at discriminating against citizens on the basis of their faith,” the analyst summed up.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that the new peace negotiation plan for ending the war in Ukraine includes an official status for the UOC.

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