PRESS RELEASE FROM
CHURCH & SOCIETY COMMISSION OF THE
CONFERENCE OF EUROPEAN CHURCHES
MEETING IN MOSCOW (5-9 May 2000)

CHURCHES EXPRESS CONCERN ON CHECHNYA

The Russian Foreign Minister, Mr Igor Ivanov, stressed the importance of dialogue with churches over the issue of Chechnya when he met a delegation this weekend in Moscow from the Church & Society Commission of the Conference of European Churches (CEC).

The CEC had already made clear its concerns that military intervention of the kind which had taken place in both Kosovo and Chechnya did not lead to solutions for violent situations, but instead made them worse.

The church delegation consisted of the Executive Committee and staff of the Church & Society Commission, who are in Moscow for their annual plenary meeting at the invitation of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Russian Orthodox Church has, for its own part, expressed general support for Russian government policy in Chechnya but has stressed that civilians should be protected and peaceful solutions found. Mr Ivanov strongly defended his government's record. However, he committed himself to ensure the return of civil society to Chechnya and to elections there in two years. The future of Europe and the implications of the EU enlargement process for Russia were also discussed in the meeting, which lasted almost two hours. Mr Ivanov pledged himself ready to continue dialogue with churches over these issues.

Earlier in the week some members of the delegation had met Prof Oleg Mironov, the Russian Federation's Commissioner for Human Rights, who admitted that mistakes had been made over Chechnya and he was pressing a number of cases with the Russian government.

Commenting after the meeting, the Moderator of CSC, Mr David Skidmore, said: "We were heartened at Mr Ivanov's openness and commitment to dialogue and valued very much the chance to express the concerns of many of our churches about what is happening in the Northern Caucasus."

The meeting of the Church and Society Commission also considered the Charta Oecumenica and the contribution of the churches to the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, and concludes on Monday with a meeting with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Alexy II.