Andriy Yurash: The Vatican can help find a model for ending the war in eastern Ukraine

He stated this in an interview with LB.ua.

According to Yurash, the Vatican is a center where influences, interests and opportunities of a completely global scale are concentrated. Therefore, Ukraine's policy towards the Holy See cannot be one-dimensional and one-line.

Andriy Yurash named six main points of cooperation:

"First, Ukraine wants such nature of relations with the Vatican State, which in relations with other states is called a strategic partnership. Perhaps it is difficult to use this term unambiguously in relation to the Apostolic capital, but what we put into this term should also be implemented in relations with the Vatican.

Second. The head of the Catholic Church has not been to Ukraine for more than 20 years. Clearly, Ukraine wants to see the pope in itself and has done everything necessary for this – from a formal and informal point of view. Therefore, we expect positive signals in this sense in the near future.

Third. Ukraine is now in a rather difficult security situation – there is a temporary occupation of our territory, there is a war. And there is no doubt, in my opinion, that the Vatican can join very seriously to help find models of mutual understanding and cessation of hostilities. President Volodymyr Zelensky has reiterated that the Vatican can and should become a dialogue platform.

Fourth, there are very serious and important influences of the Catholic community in Ukraine, and both parts of the Catholic Society of our state – both Greek Catholics and Roman Catholics-would like to see this nature of relations at the highest level. This will help them, religious communities, implement all their initiatives, and will also give a lot of dividends to the state, which is interested in both Greek and Roman Catholics developing their identity as fully as possible.

Fifth, the Apostolic Capital is now perhaps the most powerful center of World interreligious dialogue, the inter-religious, inter-Christian, inter-confessional dialogue. And, unfortunately, so far Ukraine as a state and its leading religious communities do not take an active part in such a dialogue. Therefore, it is important for us to actively engage the religious communities of Ukraine in various initiatives that come from the Holy See.

Well, the sixth. It is clear that Ukraine's good partnership relations with the Vatican are a very powerful signal to the entire Western world that Ukraine is part of this Western oikumene – cultural and civilizational. And this will help implement our strategic plans for integration into the Euro-Atlantic and European Communities."