Turkey Questions Inclusion of Constantinople Patriarchate in Ukraine Peace Summit Documents

OCP News Service – 20/06/2024

Constantinople – Turkey: Turkey’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Onju Keceli, raised concerns on social media (Twitter) regarding the participation of the Constantinople Patriarchate in the recent Ukraine Peace Summit held in Switzerland.

The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, leader of the Constantinople Patriarchate, attended the summit on June 15-16 and endorsed the joint declaration. The Patriarchate was subsequently listed as a signatory to the document, which was signed by 76 out of 91 participants.

However, Turkey disputes the characterization of the Patriarchate’s involvement. Keceli stated that claims of the Patriarchate participating with “state status” and a bilateral meeting with a Turkish minister are “not true.”

More significantly, Turkey seeks clarification from the summit organizers, Switzerland and Ukraine, about the inclusion of the Constantinople Patriarchate as a signatory. Keceli pointed out that this addition “stopped in public,” implying it may not have been transparently communicated.

Despite these objections, Keceli reaffirmed that Turkey’s official position on the Constantinople Patriarchate remains unchanged.

Source:
OCP News Service