Apostolic Nuncio: The Holy See remains principled in its positions on Kosovo

The Holy See remained principled in its positions when it came to the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo, the Apostolic Nuncio, ambassador of the Holy See in Serbia, Archbishop Santo Gangemi, said in Subotica, RTS reports.

Apostolic Nuncio Santo Gangemi said that the policy of the Vatican had not changed since the meeting between Pope Francis and President Aleksandar Vucic in 2019.

"The Holy See remains principled in its positions when it comes to the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo. Of course, we follow everything that is happening here in the dialogue between the two sides and, also, as believers, we pray for a solution that is acceptable to both sides - peace, and stability that these nations dream of," Apostolic Nuncio Gangemi told reporters.

The mayor of Subotica, Stevan Bakic, met with Archbishop Gangemi, who will stay in Subotica until Sunday.

The mayor of Subotica and the ambassador of the Holy See in Serbia discussed the potential of Subotica and Palic, the commitment of the local self-government to the development of good relations between people of different cultures and religions and cooperation with the Catholic Church, as well as the importance of preserving peace and stability, which is, as Stevan Bakic said, the main policy of the Republic of Serbia.

"I will use this opportunity, as I did in our conversation, to express my gratitude to Archbishop Gangemi, on behalf of the City of Subotica and personally, for the principled position of the Holy See on the issue of respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Serbia, and on the issue of non-recognition of the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo, as well as on the support it provides to Serbia in the process of European integration," Mayor Bakic said.

Bakic said that the local self-government had exceptional cooperation with all the churches and religious communities in Subotica, that it had been helping them for years, and that it strived to continuously improve the support it provided to them through public tenders where it would allocate funds for the co-financing of projects of churches and religious communities.