Former Kosovo Ambassador to Italy Explains Why Pope Francis Didn't Visit Kosovo

Former Kosovo ambassador to Italy, Albert Prenkaj, spoke about the contacts that the state of Kosovo has had over the years with the Holy See, namely the Vatican.

He said that Kosovo's contact with the Holy See began when former President Ibrahim Rugova visited the Vatican twice, and according to him, contacts continued even after the declaration of independence.

"These are relations, as Vatican diplomats call them, pre-diplomatic relations. On February 17, 2008, the Pope's spokesman, Father Lombardi, came out with a position stating that Kosovo is a new reality that must be cultivated and awaits a continuous dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia until permanent reconciliation."

"This is implicit recognition by the Vatican of Kosovo's independence. There is no establishment of diplomatic relations and there is no protocol communication yet, but these are pre-diplomatic communications."

"Regarding recognition, since the beginning of Kosovo's statehood when Kosovo made the first unofficial communications with the Secretariat of State, which at that time told Kosovo that the Vatican only recognizes countries that are members of the UN, and the Vatican's recognition of Kosovo could cause a rift between the Holy See and the Patriarchate in Moscow, namely the Patriarchate in Belgrade," Prenkaj told Klan Kosova.

He further said that with the arrival of Pope Francis, the Vatican's stance has changed, as he himself has announced to the media that he will also visit small countries, including Kosovo.

Prenkaj said that his absence was due to health and other reasons, while also indicating the approvals that must be in place for a Pope to visit a country.

"For a Pope to come to a country, there must be three approvals, the first is the approval of the state, it must be the approval of the representatives of the main and largest religion, so in this case, BIK had no problem with the Pope's visit," said Prenkaj.

Pope Francis died five days ago, and today the Vatican announced that the Pope has been buried.