MOSCOW, Jun 5, 2001 -- (Reuters) The head of the Russian Orthodox Church on Monday ruled out any visit to Russia by Pope John Paul until the Roman Catholic church ended what he described as its "war" against Orthodox Christians in neighboring Ukraine.
Itar-Tass news agency quoted Patriarch Alexiy II as saying a papal visit was impossible while "the Greek-Catholic war continues against Orthodox believers in Ukraine and until the Vatican stops its expansion into Russia, Belarus and Ukraine."
"As soon as these obstacles are removed we are ready for such a meeting," Alexiy said.
The Pope is due later this month to visit Ukraine, where some five million Eastern-rite Catholics recognize the supremacy of the Vatican. He has been invited by the Ukrainian government over the heads of Ukraine's Moscow-led Orthodox Church.
A meeting between the Pope and Alexiy, whose churches were separated by the Great Schism of 1054, has been mooted several times before but foundered on a patriarchal "Nyet".
Moscow church officials have bitterly opposed this month's papal visit to Ukraine, citing property disputes in Western Ukraine and accusing Catholics of seeking converts in former Soviet republics.
Alexiy said the Orthodox Church in Ukraine should have been consulted before the visit was given the go-ahead. He said the visit would only deepen divisions.
Ukrainian Catholics were fiercely persecuted under Soviet dictator Josef Stalin and much of their church property was turned over to the Orthodox Church which was closely monitored by the atheist Soviet state.
Following independence in 1991, ownership disputes flared between Ukraine's various churches.
Alexiy repeated his lukewarm reaction to the Pope's appeal, made last month during an historic visit to Greece, for forgiveness for 1,000 years of sins by Catholics against Orthodox believers.
Russian leaders have said they will invite the Pontiff to Moscow only with the backing of the Orthodox church.
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