Kosovo should remain inside Serbia, Church head says

NEWS 06.02.201912:11
Tanjug / Dimitriej Goll

Serbia is not Serbia without Kosovo and the re-drawing of borders is unacceptable, Serbian Orthodox Church head Patriarch Irinej told the Russian RIA Novosti news agency on Wednesday.

The division of Kosovo and new borders is an unacceptable solution to the church and a majority of the population, the patriarch said.  

“It’s like when a man’s heart is removed and he is no longer a living man,” Irinej said during his visit to Moscow.  

He said that Serbia and the church share the view that UN Security Council resolution 1244 should be fully respected with full freedom and autonomy for the Albanian people but with the territory of Kosovo remaining inside Serbia. “That is the stand of our church which was formulated by the recent Holy Synod (the top Serbian Orthodox Church body), the Patriarch said.