Foreign Minister: Serbian-Vatican Relations Founded on Common Values

Exibition “Serbia and the Vatican: 1878-1914” (BETAPHOTO/FOREIGN MINISTRY/MO)

Serbian Foreign Minister Nikola Selakovic has stated in Rome that the foundations of Serbian-Vatican relations are strong, deep and comprise common values and interests.

Opening an exhibition at the Pontifical Lateran University titled “Serbia and the Vatican: 1878-1914”, Selakovic said that the show evidenced the “rich centennial history of diplomatic relations between Serbia and the Holy See,” the Serbian Ministry of the Foreign Affairs announced in the evening of Oct. 18.

According to the statement, the minister emphasized that ever since its reestablished statehood in the Modern Era, Serbia has strived to build “efficient communication” with the Vatican so that the issue of relations between different Christian denominations would be resolved in a modern and peaceful manner, “in keeping with Serbia’s progressive constitutional solutions from the 19th century.”

Selakovic also said that Serbia and the Vatican “continue to develop cooperation based on [mutual] understanding” and pointed out that the Vatican’s stance on Kosovo’s unilaterally declared independence is “of high importance” to Belgrade.

“Fighting to preserve its territorial integrity and sovereignty in Kosovo, Serbia insists that the cultural heritage of our southern province is not only Serbian but also the heritage of Christian Europe [as a whole],” the minister of foreign affairs explained.

The exhibition’s opening night was attended by the diplomatic representatives of numerous countries in the Vatican, including the U.S., Russia, the United Kingdom, Spain, Greece, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.