Romanian prime minister Marcel Ciolacu announced on the evening of October 15 that "a compromise" was reached with the Ukrainian authorities regarding the rights of Romanians in Ukraine, G4media.ro reported. He promised to reveal more details during his visit to Kyiv, planned this week.

Speaking about the religious rights of the Romanians in Ukraine, PM Ciolacu said that "the church [Orthodox Church of Ukraine] separated from the Russian Patriarchate. It's a much more complex thing, but we're trying to settle them."

The situation is slightly more straightforward, however, and has nothing to do with the Russian Patriarchate: by being counted separately as Romanians and Moldovans, the ethnic Roumanians in Ukraine fall below the limit required for being granted certain rights such as education and religious rights.

Speaking about this focal topic, PM Ciolacu directed his rhetoric against Russia again, not mentioning whether it is on the agenda for his coming visit to Kyiv.

iulian@romania-insider.com 

(Photo source: Gov.ro)