In an interview with the Polish Catholic News Agency, the Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Cchurch, Patriarch Sviatoslav, told Russia is still looking for a way to conquer Ukraine, touched on the issue of the election campaign and indicated which model of national existence could ensure Ukraine's success. According to the Department of Information of the UGCC, the Primate noted that currently the Ukrainian society reminds him of a large volcano, in which different worldviews, hot political debates coexist, etc. “This volcano still explodes, because the internal political tension is strong. In my opinion, the most important thing for Ukraine is the need to build a real political system,” added the Head of the Church.

According to him, Ukraine never had real political parties. “We had groups formed by certain politicians, supported by certain oligarchs. This was the source of political corruption. For if there is a unification of the business oligarchy and state policy, then this is a source of corruption. It is not about the good of people and about the entire nation, but about the good of certain groups that care for themselves. I think that after this election a new political quality of Ukraine will come. I hope for this,” said His Beatitude Sviatoslav.

At the same time, the Primate noted that today there is a serious danger for Ukraine. “Obviously there is a state that is ready to invest big money in the upcoming election campaign. And this country is not Poland, nor the United States, nor even the Vatican, it is Russia. This is a country that is still looking for a way to conquer Ukraine, using the mechanisms of a democratic state today. This is a very dangerous reality,” said a spiritual leader of Ukrainians.

According to the Head of the Church, Ukraine is striving today to build a real European model of democracy. “In recent years,” noted His Beatitude Sviatoslav, “together with other Ukrainian Churches, we initiated the National Forum for the Transformation of Ukraine. We would like civil society to specify what it wants from politicians and their state. We asked about what kind of model of our national existence we want to support and implement. This model is determined by the Copenhagen criteria. These are the criteria according to which this state can or cannot be admitted to the European Union.”

According to him, the purpose of the Churches and other civil society organizations is that those who will take responsibility for the implementation of such a model should come to power in Ukraine. “I am convinced that most politicians have a chance to implement this project. Others have no chance if there is no major political corruption on the part of Moscow. Ukrainian public opinion clearly states that we want to be a sovereign state, we want to be a European state because we are a state with a completely separate culture from Russia. Our sovereignty must be protected and developed, "said His Beatitude Sviatoslav.

Reference

Copenhagen criteria. In June 1993, the European Council, at its meeting in Copenhagen, recognized the right of every European country to join the European Union. To this end, the candidate country must recognize the provisions of Article 6, paragraph 1, of the Treaty on the Establishment of the European Union. A number of requirements must be fulfilled according to three criteria:

• Political: stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, rule of law, respect for human rights and protection of minority rights;

• economic: an effective market economy;

• membership: the obligations arising from the fact of joining the EU, in particular, recognition of its political, economic and monetary objectives.  (Quelle: www.risu.org.ua, 6. Februar 2019)