Irinej: Serbia without Kosovo unimaginable; Pope won't visit yet

Serbian Patriarch Irinej has said that Serbia can never give away Kosovo and Metohija, and that it was not yet time for the visit of Pope Francis.

"Kosovo can be taken away, be occupied as it is today, but Serbia can never say 'we are giving that away', because what is given away is lost forever, while what is taken away by force, is taken back the same way," the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) told TV Hram, commenting on "the internal dialogue on KIM (Kosovo and Metohija)."

Irinej added that he "hopes our country's top officials think the same."

"As far as I see, the state is making great efforts to keep Kosovo within Serbia and find a political solution that satisfies both sides, and so that it remains what it is. We cannot imagine Serbia without Kosovo and Metohija," stressed the patriarch.

According to him, that part of the state is only being...