Lord Bishop of Leeds
Main Page: Lord Bishop of Leeds (Bishops - Bishops)
Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)
I thank the noble Lord for that. I am not sure it was a question, but of course I agree with him: it was a courageous act on the part of the Germans, and well done them.
The Lord Bishop of Leeds
My Lords, I very much appreciate what the Government are doing and the Statement that was given. One of the elements that is lacking from it, however, is any reference to religion. One cannot understand the politics of Russia or Ukraine without understanding the history of the past 1,200 years, what is intended to be part of the reunification of the original Rus—I speak as a Russian linguist and former Soviet specialist at GCHQ. If we do not understand the role of religion, we are in danger of short-term, reactive, tactical activities in relation to the current conflict, whereas the Russians, certainly, have been running a long-term strategy under Putin, in which he has been extremely successful thus far. What role is religion playing in the Government’s assessment of how to care for refugees, which we have talked about, and in establishing back channels with the Moscow patriarchate and the Ukrainian patriarchate?