Russians will not be able to disrupt negotiations with issues concerning the Church, - political analyst Taran

Ukrainian political analyst Serhiy Taran commented on Russia’s demands regarding respect for the rights of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as a prerequisite for starting the negotiation process. According to Taran, by raising the issue of religion, Russia is trying to create an ideological justification for the war in Ukraine. At the same time, he is convinced that this issue is actually secondary and will not cause the peace process to fail. He stated this on the Espreso TV channel.

“The Russian regime’s nitpicking about so-called violations of the rights of Russian-speaking citizens or religious communities in Ukraine is just nitpicking, it is just an ideological justification for the killings they are committing. This was the case before the war, it is the case now during the war, and it will probably be the case after the war. Therefore, this certainly cannot be a reason for disrupting the negotiations. As for this so-called church, it may be an ideological justification, but it is certainly not a serious reason. I understand, of course, that the Russian regime is making certain demands on Ukraine, which it presents as one of the conditions for ending this aggression. I do not even rule out that Ukraine may undertake obligations, for example, to respect the rights of Russian-speaking citizens in accordance with European Union standards, as well as those of religious communities,” – he said.