Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople spoke at the XIV Conference on World Politics in Abu Dhabi, reports the Orthodox times.

He mentioned inter-Christian and inter-religious meetings, stressed the importance of religion for the peaceful coexistence of peoples and nations, sharply condemning cases of religious fanaticism and intolerance, the resource writes.

Bartholomew called for solidarity, openness, responsibility and joint action.

Earlier, during Bartholomew’s visit to Ukraine, Bartholomew did not meet with the believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. He arrived at the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to meet with the speaker of parliament Dmitry Razumkov, accompanied by a motorcade, which drove across Hrushevsky Street to the courtyard of the parliament. He was brought to parliament practically from the back door.