"Stop the persecution of the Church and return the property of the UOC": Russian oligarch Deripaska on the terms of the truce between Russia and Ukraine

Russian billionaire and businessman Oleg Deripaska has pointed to a number of additional conditions that the United States and Ukraine must meet in order to achieve a truce in the Russian-Ukrainian war. According to Deripaska, these requirements, which are likely to form the basis of the agreements, should include security guarantees for the faithful and clergy of the UOC, as well as the return of the Church’s property. He wrote about this in his Telegram channel.

“I would like to correct a small inaccuracy — the ball is not yet in the Russian side. After all, we are talking about a truce that should lead to peace. So, some steps have to be taken now — not only by Ukraine, but also by the United States and Europe. These steps should inspire confidence in the population of all countries involved in the conflict,” — Deripaska wrote.

In addition to the economic issues raised by the businessman, Deripaska called on the United States, Ukraine and Europe to ensure the observance of civil rights and freedoms in the field of religion.

“There are several issues that need to be addressed: Stop the persecution of UOC parishioners and priests in Ukraine. Return the property of the UOC…”, — the billionaire added.

Earlier, the editor-in-chief of the popular Ukrainian online publication Glavkom, Mykola Pidvezianyi, said that the Ukrainian church crisis would be the subject of peace talks between Russia and the United States. According to the journalist, this is why the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is in no hurry to unite with the OCU.