The EBF has received this statement from the office of the Euro-Asiatic Federation, which brings together many of the Baptist Unions who were part of the Soviet Union, including Ukraine and Russia.

An open letter and prayer for Ukraine and Russia: Stop and look …

The Lord says in Jeremiah 6:16, “Stand at the crossroads and look; … ask where the good way is, and walk in it, …”

We face a difficult situation as tensions escalate between Ukraine and Russia. It is never possible to solve a country’s internal difficulties with outside force.

We call the leaders on both sides to the negotiating table, not as adversaries or rivals, but as representatives of a people who share a common heritage and who have a desire for the welfare of each other. In any attempt to solve difficulties, it is important not to act in a hasty or unwise manner that may inflame tensions and draw neighbours into conflict with one another.

We will continue to pray for our brothers in Ukraine and Russia, and we appeal to all parties with the words often repeated in Scripture, “peace to you.”

With Christian love for all in Russia and Ukraine,

From the Union of Evangelical Christian-Baptist in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.

A. B. Smirnov
President of the Euro-Asian Federation of the Unions of Evangelical Christian Baptists

Y. A. Apatov
Executive Secretary of the Euro-Asian Federation of the Unions of Evangelical Christian Baptists