Turkish Dep. PM meeting with Patriarch, other religious minority leaders
ISTANBUL (ANA-MPA / A. Kourkoulas) - Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew participated on Friday in a meeting of leaders of religious minorities in Turkey with Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc. Arinc referred to the Patriarchate's standing demand for the re-opening of the Halki Orthodox seminary, saying this was "a reasonable and just" demand, while he clarified that the re-opening "is unfortunately, being obstructed by existing provisions, which form a major obstacle."