THE Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomew of Constantinople, has expressed his desire for a swift conclusion to the war in Ukraine to pave the way for the urgent rebuilding of the nation, after three years of Russian aggression.

These hopes were voiced during a visit that he hosted for the Primate of Ukraine’s independent Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Epiphany (Dumenko), at his residence in the Phanar, Istanbul, last weekend.

Both church leaders spoke about the importance of ending the war. The comments made by the Patriarch, however, about a new phase of rebuilding Ukraine, resonated with the US perspective.

During his homily, the Orthodox Times reported, the Patriarch said: “We hope that the arduous war will soon come to an end, and peace will return. May the reconstruction of Ukraine, a country devastated by the unjust attacks from the north, begin.”

In the latest round of peace talks in Saudi Arabia this week, Ukraine has accepted a proposal for a 30-day ceasefire — a suggestion from the US — opening the way for more substantial negotiations with Russia.

Describing the meeting with Ukrainian counterparts as a “positive step”, on Tuesday, the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said that the “ball is now in Russia’s court”.

President Trump has been pressing Ukraine’s leadership for a quick agreement to his peace terms since he took office in January. After the recent debate in the Oval Office with President Zelensky, the US decided to withdraw substantial military and security assistance for Ukraine (News, 7 March).

While there is a shared aspiration that the war should end, the realities are having an impact on people living in Ukraine: Patriarch Bartholomew and Metropolitan Epiphany talked about the repatriation of Ukrainian children held by Russia, and the swapping of prisoners, a cause that the Patriarch has been advocating for some time.

The Ecumenical Patriarchate had been praying for a just peace, Bartholomew said, reminding everyone that the Ukrainian Orthodox Primate had spent the past three years leading a Church “marked by the suffering of the bloody war”.

During the first Sunday of Great Lent, Metropolitan Epiphany concelebrated the divine liturgy with Patriarch Bartholomew.

He criticised the “Russian World” ideology, saying that “the world must hear the truth about the satanic nature of Russian aggression and the dangerous ideology of the ‘Russian world’ that justifies evil.”