NEW YORK, United States | Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew at Ukraine’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, discussing political and diplomatic developments while rejecting Moscow’s claims of religious persecution in his country.
According to the Ukrainian presidency, Zelensky told the Patriarch that “there can be no ties with the aggressor state,” stressing what he called the “destructive influence” of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine. He urged coordinated initiatives to counter propaganda and religious rhetoric used to justify Russia’s aggression.
The Patriarch, through his press office, expressed his solidarity with Ukraine and wished the people “strength and courage” in their struggle. The discussion also touched on Bartholomew’s recent meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump and Zelensky’s coordination with Washington. Both leaders highlighted the pursuit of “genuine peace,” with Zelensky thanking Bartholomew for his speech at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, where the Patriarch condemned Russia’s war and the role of its church leadership.
Zelensky invited the Ecumenical Patriarch to visit Kyiv, while Bartholomew extended a reciprocal invitation for the Ukrainian president to travel to the Phanar.
