The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikola Selaković, paid an official visit to the Vatican, where he had separate talks with the Secretary of State of the Holy See, Cardinal Peter Parolin, and the Secretary for Relations with States, Monsignor Paul Richard Gallagher.

Minister Selaković emphasized that the conclusion after the meetings is that the cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia and the Holy See should be intensified.

The head of Serbian diplomacy said that the talks with Monsignor Gallagher and the Secretary of State of the Holy See took place in a very open and constructive atmosphere, and that it was agreed that consultations between the two ministries of foreign affairs would continue from the beginning of next year.

The head of Serbian diplomacy stated that the good news was that after the visit, a plan was made for the continuation of our intensive cooperation, the first step of which will be the visit of Archbishop Gallagher to Serbia, which is expected at the end of November.

On that occasion, Minister Selaković added, the dialogue with the MFA of Serbia will be continued, but it will also be an opportunity to meet with the leadership of our country, as well as with the representatives of the Serbian Orthodox Church, in order to continue the dialogue that exists between the two churches.

Minister Selaković emphasized that the principled support that the Holy See has regarding the preservation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia is something that additionally makes our relations important and that gives a serious chance for their improvement.

"I used both meetings as an opportunity to acquaint my interlocutors with the latest developments in Kosovo and Metohija and to reaffirm our commitment to dialogue, as the only diplomatically possible means of resolving the Kosovo-Metohija knot", said Minister Selaković.

The head of Serbian diplomacy conveyed that other issues in the region were also discussed at the meetings, which are significant for both the Republic of Serbia and the Holy See.

"We talked about the necessity of the historic beginning of a new phase of cooperation between Serbs and Croats, as something that the Holy See is very much in favor of and supports, especially emphasizing the fact that unresolved issues from the past currently burden our cooperation for the future, and that can certainly bring no good to anyone", stated Minister Selaković.

According to him, cooperation with the Holy See should be intensified

"It is cooperation between the two countries, the Republic of Serbia is a secular state and we do not confuse it with the function of the Holy See which is within the Roman Catholic Church", said Minister Selaković.

For us, the head of Serbian diplomacy emphasized, it is important to pay special attention to a state that has not recognized the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo, which supports our state, even though it is exposed to pressure to change that position, we must cooperate with it and intensify various other forms of cooperation.

Minister Selaković said that during his stay in the Vatican and in the preparations for the visit, he saw how many of his colleagues from other majority Orthodox countries visited the Holy See and how many of them have an intensive structural dialogue.

"This type of structural dialogue, which was held in our country only once in May 2019 and never again, is practiced by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs twice a year, and cooperation between the Holy See and other Orthodox countries, such as friendly Cyprus and Greece, is something that is in the intensification phase. Then you wonder where Serbia is in all that. That is something we have to deal with much more in the future, that is the reason why I came here", Minister Selaković pointed out.

According to him, this type of cooperation, dialogue and communication is very important for us, in some cases of vital importance, in places where Orthodox Serbs share the same living space with Roman Catholics.
"It is important for our state that we have good, constructive and essential cooperation with what used to be the Papal State, and today is the Holy See, that is, the Vatican", concluded Minister Selaković.