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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Special attention to relations with Holy See

Belgrade / Vatican, 19 October 2021

Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikola Selakovic paid an official visit to the Vatican, where he had separate talks with the Secretary of State of the Holy See Cardinal Peter Parolin and the Secretary for Relations with Monsignor Paul Richard Gallagher.

On that occasion, Selakovic emphasised that the cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Holy See should be intensified, conveying that the talks took place in a very open and constructive atmosphere, and it was agreed to continue consultations between the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs from the beginning of next year.

According to him, the principled support that the Holy See has regarding the preservation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia is something that additionally makes our relations important and that gives a serious chance for their improvement.

He said that he used both meetings as an opportunity to acquaint his interlocutors with the latest events in Kosovo and Metohija and to reaffirm our commitment to dialogue, as the only diplomatically possible means in resolving the Kosovo-Metohija knot.

The head of Serbian diplomacy pointed out that other issues in the region were also discussed at the meetings, about what is important for Serbia and the Holy See.

We talked about the necessity of the historical beginning of a new phase of cooperation between Serbs and Croats, as something that the Holy See supports, especially noting the fact that unresolved issues from the past currently burden our cooperation in the future, he said noting that it will not bring good to anyone.

He reiterated that cooperation with the Holy See should be intensified, explaining that it is cooperation between the two countries, and that we should not confuse it with the function of the Holy See which is within the Roman Catholic Church.