Experts for the Balkans: Lajcak and Palmer made a serious mistake when talking politics with Serbian Church leaders

Two Miroslav Lajcak and Mathew Palmer came to Kosovo and Serbia to understand the two sides' views of the possible achievement of a Kosovo-Serbia agreement.

The visit was launched in Pristina, meeting with top heads of state and doing the same in Belgrade. But unlike meetings in Kosovo, the European and American in the Serbian capital also met religious leaders. That is how they did not deal with Islamic and Catholic people in Kosovo, at least not in public

As the headquarters of the Serbian Orthodox Church announced, but even Lajcak himself, the topics affected by this meeting of politicians and priests in Belgrade were more political.

“Me Palmer held the first meeting that was useful to the new Serbian patriarch. We discussed the views on dialogue and the” region, Lajcak wrote on Twitter.

Meanwhile, the KOS office has announced that guests had a long discussion of Serbian religious objects in Kosovo.

“They stressed that they are committed to solving problems such as the issue of land property of the Decani Monastery, while speaking of Pristina's request for removal from the list of endangered objects such as Peja Patrickana, Decani Monastery of Gracanica and the Church of the Holy Sea of Ljevish”.

“They (Lajcak and Palmer) said they are not bringing any solutions or pressure, but that they are interested in discussing with His Holiness and Bishops, with the desire to find a correct solution”.

For the political involvement of Serbian religious leaders by the two politicians, political science doctor Jasmin Mujanovic, who is also a good expert on Balkan problems.

This was really a terrible decision by all involved. Neither the EU nor the US should enter the business of promoting religious institutions as political actors. An extremely bad judgment by Lajcak and Palmer”, he wrote on Twitter.

This post has reacted to former Kosovo Ambassador to the US Vlora Citaku, who complained there was no meeting with religious leaders in Kosovo.

While in Kosovo they did not meet any religious leaders, or at least not in public”, Citaku re-compliated.

The political scientist also had answers.

And this is your PR “scandal, he said. This stupid “ (so the meeting with religious leaders to discuss v.j policy) could be expected by Lajcak and the EU, but the Biden administration would have better known”.

The issue of Serbian Orthodox Church religious objects in Kosovo became one of the basic topics of conversation on the occasion of Lajcak and Palmer's arrival in Kosovo and Serbia.

This became a hot topic of discussion in Kosovo-Serbia relations as well, since Prime Minister Albin Kurti wrote a letter to the 50 leaders of the world's powerful states who were told that Kosovo is able to preserve all religious objects in the country, including those of Orthodox religion, with the “love of dedication”. Kurti said with this case that religious objects located in Kosovo belong to generations that were, to those who are and to those who will be”.

This letter and this approach of Kurti has troubled Serbia, including Serbian Orthodox Church politicians. The latter rejected the request to visit the Decani Monastery, made last month.