Italy has spoken out against EU sanctions against Patriarch Kirill

This is reported by Politico, citing three European diplomats.

Politico’s sources say that Rome’s position is linked to the Vatican — Italy does not wish to impose sanctions on the head of the Christian church, despite the fact that Patriarch Kirill has repeatedly and publicly supported and justified russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

In June, Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev stated that the country did not agree with sanctions against russian Patriarch Kirill. He also said that Bulgaria would veto a new package of EU sanctions against russia, as the sanctions could harm Bulgaria’s economy.

The EU first attempted to add Kirill to the sanctions list in 2022, accusing him of supporting the full-scale invasion and spreading propaganda. However, Hungary, under Orbán’s leadership, blocked this move, citing it as a matter of religious freedom.

Source: Babel