Russian Patriarch Tackles Russian-Ukrainian Strategic Economic Partnership
On July 29, in Kyiv, with the blessing of the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, the second session of the Economics and Ethics Expert Council of the Patriarch of Moscow on the Russian-Ukrainian strategic partnership in economics was held.
The session was led by the head of the Synodal Department on Church-Society Relations, the head of the council, Protopriest Vsevolod Chaplin and Secretary General of the Club of the Orthodox entrepreneurs, Pavlo Shashkin. The event was held with the support of the Center for Social-Conservative Policy in Ukraine.
According to patriarchia.ru, in his introductory address, Fr. Vsevolod stressed that the subject of morality in economics is close to the church because it worries the tens of millions in its flock. The speakers stressed the importance the Orthodox people partaking not only in economic cooperation but also in searching for ways out of the economic crises.
“The Orthodox civilization has value, which can be very beneficial for overcoming imbalances in the world economy. These are, in particular, questions of correlation between the spiritual and material, care for people, self-restraint, justice. Without these values, the world economy is unlikely to overcome the present difficulties,” said Fr. Vsevolod.
In the end of the session, the council passed a resolution reflecting the church-public position on the necessity of developing a strategic cooperation between Russia and Ukraine, which are tied by a common history, on the basis of general moral values in economics, politics, and the public sphere.
The summarizing document of the patriarchal Economics and Ethics Council calls to build the Russian-Ukrainian economic relations on the principles of efficiency, justice, and solidarity reflected in the programs of the main political forces of Ukraine and Russia.
According to the members of the council, the realization of these principles envisages, in particular, creating conditions for equal-right participation of Russia and Ukraine in the formation of the Euro-Asiatic integration model, including, forming a regional currency-financial system that can improve the economy and withdraw it from raw material dependency.
The patriarchal council includes Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovych, Prime Minster Mykola Azarov, First Deputy Head of the State Duma of Russia, Oleh Morozov, Deputy Head of State Duma of Russia, Oleksandr Babakov, Senior Secretary of the Tax Union, Sergii Glaziev, Minister of Agriculture of Russia, Olena Skrynnyk ,and other officials and public figures.
