Statements by the Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) urging the Exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarchate leave Ukraine seem to be an attempt to artificially stir up conflict, the press service of Ukraine's Culture Ministry has said.

"Categorical and intolerant statements of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), which contradict Ukrainian traditions, looks like an attempt to artificially stir up conflict, instead of peaceful dialogue and condoning the desperate attempts of the Russian aggressor to obstruct the free formation of a single local Orthodox church in Ukraine," the press service said.

The ministry said attempts by members of UOC-MP Synod to obstruct the activities of representatives of other churches, in particular, the Exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, are unacceptable.

According to the press release, "Neither Ukrainian legislation nor traditions of inter-church relations in Ukraine provide for the right of bodies of one church to dictate their will to another church or its representatives."

"The European principle of interreligious relations, based on the principles of religious pluralism, will always operate in Ukraine ... Nobody ... has the right to dictate his will to other structures or religious organizations in an open society, and especially towards the activities of representatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople - the Church, the blessing of the first hierarchs of which appeared and the Kyiv Metropolis, and its branches, now known as the Russian Orthodox Church, " the press service said.