“If not put to a vote - we will block the tribune,” - MP Vyatrovych on the vote for the ban of the UOC

European Solidarity MP Volodymyr Viatrovych said that if Bill 8371 on the ban on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is not put to a vote at the beginning of the new plenary week, former President Petro Poroshenko’s political force will block the rostrum again. Vyatrovych said this on the air of the Espresso TV channel.

“We are not withdrawing our demand to ban the UOC (MP), which was formulated at the last session of the Verkhovna Rada. That is, the next session of the parliament should begin with the consideration of this bill. As far as we know, it is currently scheduled for August. If there are any more attempts to change the previous agreement, we will return to the blockade of the rostrum. Without the implementation of this bill, we will continue to expose Ukraine and Ukrainians to danger from a structure that works for Russia,” — said MP Viatrovych.

Earlier, the OCU lobbyist in the media and a freelance expert of the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience, religious scholar Andriy Smirnov, said that after the adoption of the law banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the state should increase its influence on the clergy and believers of the denomination in order to persuade them to join the OCU. Smirnov is convinced that those who do not want to become part of the Ukrainian schism should leave Ukraine and go to Russia.