Alexy II hopes Kosovo not to split from Serbia
MOSCOW, November 16 -- Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia Alexy II hopes that negotiations on the future status of Kosovo and Metohija, which will start later this month with the mediation of the United Nations, will not result in the territory?s split from Serbia.
"We know what Kosovo means for Serbs. This is a holy land, the cradle of the Serbian statehood and culture, and the location of precious sanctuaries, many of which have been ruined and desecrated," Alexy II said at a Tuesday meeting with Serbian President Boris Tadic.
He shared the opinion of Serbian Patriarch Pavle that "the negotiations are the only way to achieve a compromise and a just settlement for all peoples populating that territory."
"We value high the reconciliation and mutual forgiveness appeal of the Serbian Church Assembly to Kosovo Albanians," Alexy II said.
Albanian extremists have damaged or totally ruined 146 churches in Kosovo since 1999. A source in the Serbian and Montenegrin embassy in Moscow told Itar-Tass that a program of the reconstruction of 34 Orthodox churches in Kosovo, which was authorized by the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers, was launched in October 2005. In the future it is planned to restore both Christian and Moslem monuments.
Alexy II and Tadic also discussed the future referendum on the state status of Montenegro. "The unity of all Orthodox Christians on the Balkan Peninsula is of special importance at this disturbing time. No matter what outcome the future ballot will have, we pray for the unity and mutual support of Serbs and Montenegrins, the same as it was in the previous centuries. The Serb Orthodox Church has a special role in the protection of this unity," he said.
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