Orthodoxy unity in Ukraine linked with unity of Ukraine people

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KIEV, July 27 (Itar-Tass) -- The unity of the Orthodox Church in
Ukraine is linked closely with the unity of all Ukraine and the successful
development of the country, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill said
in a televised interview before a visit in Ukraine on July 27-August 5.
"First and foremost, the church should remain autonomous towards the
secular authorities. The church should remain free. The church should not
join any political project and should not support any party versus another
one," the patriarch said. According to him, "Political convictions should
not put an obstacle" for the access to the church. "This is the problem of
modern Ukraine. The split in the church is in line with the political
rift," Kirill said. "The church forwards its spiritual forces to overcome
this split," he pointed out.
"As for the goal of the visit that is the talk of town I intend to
take an opportunity to say that my single goal is to pray together," the
patriarch said. "My word is the word of shepherd and I pin high hopes that
it will be taken this way," he added. Meanwhile, Kirill believes that some
Ukrainian forces "will make not quite favourable political comments" on
his statements. However, he offers to these people to pray together in
order to preserve the unity of the Ukrainian people. The Russian patriarch
noted that the church is not seeking to pursue any political doctrines or
opposition activities.
The Russian church hierarch believes that "the major problem is the
absence of God in the human mind" in the modern world. "If the moral
regression will plague this civilisation this moral regression may result
in the self-destruction of human kind," he believes. According to him,
"The main goal is to merge in the mind of the modern man divine and
secular values" in order to follow all earthly deeds with prayers.
"Without a prayer any affair is impossible in the church, I believe that
it is impossible not only in church," Kirill said.

.Eight Ukrainians injured, as bus overturns in Poland.

WARSAW, July 27 (Itar-Tass) -- A bus, which was carrying mostly
Ukrainian citizens from the Ukrainian city of Lvov to the German city of
Karlsruhe, has overturned in southern Poland on Sunday. Eight people were
injured, six of them, including a child, were hospitalised, their lives
are out of danger.
The bus with the German number plate has two drivers and 47
passengers, mostly Ukrainians as well as German citizens. On the
Krakow-Chrzanow highway the driver lost control of the wheel, skidded on
the roadside and the bus overturned. The police believe that the
carelessness of the driver caused the road accident, as the driver could
probably fall asleep behind the wheel.
Some 50 Polish rescuers rushed to the accident site. The bus
passengers and the drivers were brought to a local fire station. The
German company, which owned the bus, promised to send a new bus for the
passengers.

.Russia deputy premier Sechin to discuss coop in Venezuela.

CARACAS, July 27 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor
Sechin will arrive on a working visit in Venezuela on Monday. He will have
talks with the Venezuelan leadership on the key trends of bilateral
cooperation. Igor Sechin is expected to meet with Venezuelan President
Hugo Chavez, Executive Vice-President Ramon Carrizalez and the chief
executives of several ministries and agencies.
The talks will highlight the fulfilment of the agreements signed
during Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's visit in Venezuela last
November and will outline prospects of dynamically developing bilateral
political, trade-economic and military-technical relations that brought
Russia and Venezuela on the level of strategic partnership in the last few
years.
The sides are planning to consider the implementation of joint
projects in the oil and gas sector, the energy industry, mining and heavy
industries, as well as the founding of the Russian-Venezuelan bank with
the 4-bln-dollar charter capital for the financial support of these
projects.
High on the agenda of the talks will be the discussion on practical
issues regarding the final stage of founding a Russian-Venezuelan
consortium for developing heavy crude deposits in the Orinoco basin.
Russia is represented in the consortium by the leading fuel and energy
companies, Gazprom, Rosneft, LUKOIL, TNK-BP and Surgutneftegaz, and
Venezuela is represented by the state-owned petroleum corporation
Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA). The top managers of the foresaid
Russian companies are included in the delegation headed by Deputy Prime
Minister Igor Sechin.
At the beginning of the visit Igor Sechin will visit the Hunin-6 oil
block of the Orinoco oil belt, where the Russian-Venezuelan consortium
will produce oil. Igor Sechin and Venezuelan Minister of Energy and
Petroleum Rafael Ramirez concluded an agreement to assign this oil block
for joint development at an OPEC session last March, and the Venezuelan
parliament approved the agreement last June.
Upon results of Sechin's visit several agreements on the whole scope
of bilateral economic relations will be signed. The Russian vice-premier
and the Venezuelan leadership will also agree on several documents planned
for signing at a meeting of the Russian-Venezuelan High Level
Intergovernmental Commission due in Petersburg in the middle of August
2009. Igor Sechin will head the Russian side of the High Level
Intergovernmental Commission, and Executive Vice-President Ramon
Carrizalez will co-chair the Venezuelan side of the Commission.
-0-baz