The Russian Foreign Ministry criticized the U.S. authorities for indifference to the issue of persecution of the UOC by the Ukrainian government

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova expressed dissatisfaction with the report of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom at a briefing in Moscow on March 12. She noted that the document shambolic criticizes Russia’s ban on Jehovah’s Witnesses and other organizations such as Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami, but at the same time leaves the ban and persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church unaddressed. This is reported by «Giport».

«The ban in Russia of Jehovah’s Witnesses and other similar organizations such as Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami is shabbily criticized, and hints are made about the goals and nature of the special military operation. This aspect is also included in the report of the Commission on Religious Freedom. At the same time, the document, which claims to be objective, completely overlooks the blatant persecution of the Kiev regime against the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church,» Zakharova said.

The diplomat emphasized that the assessments in the commission’s report are predictable, and the principle of dividing countries into «good» and «bad» is reduced to pursuing or rejecting a policy independent of Washington.

«The list of countries to which claims are made, and the claims themselves can be predicted in advance, which confirms this report, » — added Zakharova.

We shall remind you that earlier MP Roman Kostenko confirmed that during the negotiation process with Ukraine, the Russian side put forward demands regarding the protection of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC).