Baptist visits Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

On May 14 Vitaly Vlasenko was hosted by Oleg Vasnetsov, a Vice-President of the foreign ministry department responsible for relations with Russian civic organisations, reports William Yoder, Russian Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists. One concern was that fact that it is no longer possible for church representatives to receive an official visa to Russia on short notice.

Until a year ago, Russian Protestants had been able to receive from their foreign ministry, often within 24 hours, the invitation necessary to apply for official visas. Today, that procedure can last as long as a month. Vasnetsov promised to pursue the matter; Vlasenko noted that a conversation with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov could be essential.

Vlasenko commented after the session: “It was a good meeting and the people were very open. They did not know much about Protestants and were surprised to hear that around a million of their citizens are Protestants. This shows again how vitally important it is that we seek and cultivate relations with the political authorities of our country.”

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TAGS: Russia Vitaly Vlasenko Oleg Vasnetsov Ministry of Foreign Affairs Russian Protestants

[05/29/2009]

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