Patriarchate removed from Ukraine summit statement following Turkish protests: report
The organizers of the Ukraine Peace Summit, held earlier this month in Switzerland, removed the Ecumenical Patriarchate from the list of signatories of its final statement following protests from Turkey, according to reports.
Although Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, regarded as the representative and spiritual leader of the Eastern Orthodox Christians worldwide, participated in the June 15-16 summit as an observer, the appearance of the patriarchate as a signatory on the final communique caused outrage in Turkey after the conference concluded, the Middle East Eye news site said.
Numerous Turkish opposition publications characterized the incident as a scandal, arguing that it constituted a violation of Turkish sovereignty and the Treaty of Lausanne.
Citing the treaty, Ankara does not recognize the “ecumenical” title claimed by the patriarchate.
Last week, a Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman said reports claiming that the patriarchate participated in the summit “with the status of a state” and that Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan had an official bilateral meeting with Bartholomew on the margins of the summit “do not reflect the truth.”
It formally demanded an explanation from Switzerland as to how the patriarchate appeared on the communique as a signatory.
According to a capture of the relevant Swiss Foreign Ministry website on the Internet Archive’s WaybackMachine, the Ecumenical Patriarchate first appeared as a signatory of the declaration on June 17.
The Ecumenical Patriarchate no longer appears as a signatory on the current list on the website, which now states, however: “The Ecumenical Patriarchate attended the summit as observer and supports the principles set forth in the joint communique.”
