President Meri explained to the ambassador that a lot of incorrect information had been spread in connection with the church dispute in Estonia and notwithstanding of their confession the believers regret deeply that the Patriarchate of Moscow did not reach an agreement with the Constantinople mother church. It is stated in the press release of the presidential chancellery that according to the Estonian constitution equal rights are guaranteed to all confessions in the country and the claims by some journalists that the members of Moscow Patriarchate would not be able to hold church services in future are entirely groundless.
Processes in the Estonian legislation are at present directed to restore the property situation before the country's occupation by the Red Army but these do not restrict in any way the rights of believers to participate in church services.
President Meri reiterated the position expressed at the summit of the European heads of state in Budapest December 5, 1994 that the disputes over such matters have to be solved by the believers themselves, not by statesmen or politicians.
"Human rights, religious freedom among them, should not be used as political weapons", it is said in the press release of the presidential chancellery.