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US tries to press for splitting Orthodox world, says Lavrov

© Vladimir Gerdo/TASS

MOSCOW, November 6. /TASS/. US actions to create conditions for a discussion over the recognition of the so-called Orthodox Church of Ukraine and support for this schismatic organization are evidence of Washington’s attempts to press for a split of the Orthodox world, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after talks with his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias on Wednesday.

Lavrov recalled that US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo had visited Athens before the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Ieronymus II addressed the head of Ukraine’s schismatic church with the so-called "peaceful letter." Pompeo made no secret of the fact that this question was on his visit’s agenda.

"As far as I can understand, US diplomats pursued the same aim when they visited Mont Athos," Lavrov said. "The head of the schismatic Orthodox Church of Ukraine, so called, Epiphanius said in public that creating that organization would have been impossible without direct support from the United States. Now it is getting pretty clear that the United States has no intention to stop here and will be trying to press for a split of the Orthodox world in general.".

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Sergey Lavrov United States Greece

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