Petition calling not to ban Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate gains 25,000 votes in Ukraine

MOSCOW. March 15 (Interfax) - A petition on the website of the Ukrainian government calling not to ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate has garnered the 25,000 votes necessary for its consideration.

Ukrainian media reported citing the government's website that this petition had been forwarded on January 13 and gained the 25,000 votes required for its consideration on March 15.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said last December that the National Security and Defense Council had instructed the government to submit a bill to the Verkhovna Rada to ban the activities in Ukraine of religious organizations "affiliated with the centers of influence" in Russia.

"It means that if the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is such a religious organization, with a new legal framework it will be impossible for it to operate in Ukraine," the petition reads.

Its authors ask the government to take into account the position of the signatories of the petition during the legal resolution of the issue of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate.

"We ask the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers to address the resolution of the church issue in a balanced way when developing the legal framework," the petition reads.