The organizers of the Ukraine Peace Summit, held earlier this month in Switzerland, reportedly removed the Ecumenical Patriarchate from the list of signatories of its final statement following protests from Turkey.
Although Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, recognized as the representative and spiritual leader of Eastern Orthodox Christians worldwide, participated in the June 15-16 summit as an observer, the patriarchate's appearance as a signatory on the final communique sparked outrage in Turkey after the conference concluded, according to the Middle East Eye news site.
Numerous Turkish opposition publications characterized the incident as scandalous, arguing that it violated Turkish sovereignty and the Treaty of Lausanne.
Ankara does not recognize the "Ecumenical" title claimed by the patriarchate, citing the treaty.
Last week, a Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman stated that reports claiming the patriarchate participated in the summit "with the status of a state" and that Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan had an official bilateral meeting with Bartholomew on the margins of the summit "do not reflect the truth."
Turkey formally demanded an explanation from Switzerland regarding how the patriarchate appeared on the communique as a signatory.
According to a capture of the relevant Swiss Foreign Ministry website on the Internet Archive’s WaybackMachine, the Ecumenical Patriarchate first appeared as a signatory of the declaration on June 17.
However, the Ecumenical Patriarchate no longer appears as a signatory on the current list on the website, which now states: "The Ecumenical Patriarchate attended the summit as an observer and supports the principles set forth in the joint communique."
