Klimkin, Archbishop of Vienna discuss aid to Donbas, autocephaly for UOC

The sides discussed, in particular, humanitarian assistance to the victims of the Donbas, the creation of a single local Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) and the Holodomor in Ukraine in 1932-1933, the foreign minister wrote on his Facebook page.

"Today, in Vienna, I met with Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, with whom we spoke about everything – starting with the work of Caritas in Ukraine and, in particular, in the Donbas and ending with the creation of a single local Ukrainian Orthodox Church," Klimkin wrote.

According to the minister, one story really impressed him emotionally: "The cardinal showed photos documenting the crime of the Holodomor. In those days, these photographs were transferred to Vienna, and former Cardinal Theodor Innitzer had the courage to openly talk about our tragedy. He published brochures and called on Europe with all possible means to hear us."

According to Klimkin, it is really impossible to look at these photos without pain. "Endless queues for a small piece of bread and dead bodies on the road, but most of all I was touched by a picture showing only one sign on a tree: 'Nobody can be buried here'," he wrote.

He added that this documentary collection is "a unique material that proves the scale of the crime and the tragedy of the Holodomor."

"Next year we will definitely show these pictures to the world," the minister added.

Klimkin is on a working visit to Austria on November 20-21.

The main purpose of the visit is to participate in an international high-level conference on combating anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism.

The foreign minister will also hold a series of bilateral meetings in Vienna.