DESS expert tells US State Department reps about religious freedom in Ukraine

Member of the DESS Expert Council Andriy Smirnov. Photo: Smirnov’s Facebook

Member of the DESS Expert Council of Andriy Smirnov discussed the religious situation in Ukraine with US State Department officials in Washington.

As part of the delegation's visit to the United States, Smirnov met with representatives of the State Department's Office of International Religious Freedom. The Office is responsible for monitoring the global situation and compiles lists of countries that violate the rights of believers.

Smirnov did not publish any details of the talks; however, judging by the rhetoric of other experts and representatives of the State Ethnopolitics Service, it can be assumed that Smirnov assured the State Department's Office that religious freedom in Ukraine is at a high level.

Let us recall that against the backdrop of consultations with American diplomats, DESS published a report in which it accused Robert Amsterdam, the UOC's international lawyer, of undermining foreign partners' assistance to Ukraine, tarnishing its leadership, and distorting the religious situation in Ukraine.

While officials demonstrate to American partners their commitment to democratic standards and "principled defense of religious freedom," in practice the State Ethnopolitics Service continues its systematic campaign to discredit the UOC and its defenders.

As the UCOJ reported, a State Department official discussed religious freedom in Ukraine with the Phanar's Exarch.

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