On 17-19 November 2016 Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) President Eugene Czolij concludes official visit to Turkey where he met with His All-Holiness Bartholomew I, Archbishop of Constantinople – New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch and the local Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar communities.
The UWC President called upon the Ecumenical Patriarch to grant a Tomos of Autocephaly for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Kyivan Patriarchate and presented the Resolution of the 2016 UWC Annual General Meeting on this issue.
During meetings with the Ukrainian communities in Istanbul and Antalya, Eugene Czolij familiarized himself with the life of Ukrainians in Turkey and focused on the means for increased cooperation in furthering Ukrainian interests. In Istanbul the community meeting was facilitated by the General Consul of Ukraine in Istanbul, Vasyl Bodnar, while the meeting in Antalya was organized by the UWC associate member organization Ukrayinska Hromada “Ukrayinska Rodyna” chaired by President Vita Mykhailova and Honorary President Oleksandr Riabchenko.
Eugene Czolij also met with members of the Istanbul branch of the Association of Crimean Tatars chaired by Celal Icten to discuss the defence of fundamental rights and freedoms of the residents of temporarily occupied Crimea.
The UWC President was accompanied on his trip to Turkey by the Director of the UWC Mission to Ukraine Serhiy Kasyanchuk.
“During these meetings, I had an opportunity to present current Ukrainian issues and get better familiarized with the activities of Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars in Turkey,” stated UWC President Eugene Czolij.
In the photo: UWC President E. Czolij with Ukrainian community in Istanbul
