The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, responding to an invitation from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) addressed to him and to the other religious leaders of the country, went to Ankara on Tuesday, April 4, 2023, where an Iftar dinner was held, which was offered during the Ramadan period after the end of the daily fast, and was attended by the President of the Turkish Republic, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

The Ecumenical Patriarch expressed his wishes to President Erdoğan, and through him to all the Muslims of the country, for Ramadan, and even wished the all-good and merciful God to protect every human, and especially to strengthen our suffering fellow humans in the earthquake-stricken areas of southeastern Turkey.

The Ecumenical Patriarch, who returned to Constantinople on the same day, was accompanied by Metropolitan Ioakeim of Bursa.

It should be noted that on Sunday, March 26, the Ecumenical Patriarch, accompanied by Archon Panteleimon Viga, attended an Iftar dinner hosted by the political party Gelecek Partisi, in the presence of political personalities, representatives of religious communities and minorities and a large number of other guests, in an event hall of the Metropolitan Municipality of Constantinople.