Turkish, Ukrainian foreign ministers meet in Istanbul

By Tugcenur Yilmaz

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish foreign minister on Saturday met with his Ukrainian counterpart in Istanbul.

In a Twitter post, Turkey’s Mevlut Cavusoglu wrote he discussed bilateral relations and regional issues with Pavlo Klimkin during the meeting.

Klimkin came to Istanbul with the delegation of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to receive a document cementing the independence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from its larger Russian counterpart.

Poroshenko received the Tomos of Autocephaly (autonomy) of Ukraine’s church from the hands of Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew in Istanbul.

On Oct. 11, the Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Istanbul greenlit the process for the Ukrainian church's independence, over Russia’s objections, and with Ukrainian-Russian geopolitical tensions in the background.

The Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church was created following the results of the Dec. 15 All-Ukrainian Orthodox Unity Council, where Epiphanius, the metropolitan of Pereiaslav and Bila Tserkva, was elected primate of the local Ukrainian Orthodox Church.