Kurti on Patriarch Porfiry's stances in the Kremlin: He puts the region in serious danger

The current Patriarch of the Serbian Church quoted the words of the previous Patriarch Irinej, who said that "the small Serbian boat, sailing in a turbulent sea, must always be tied to the great Russian ship."

"Our position on Kosovo, Republika Srpska and Montenegro, I consider and feel, also depends on the position of the Russian Federation at the global level. My desire, and that of the majority in our Church, is that in the future, if a new geopolitical regrouping occurs, we will be close to that Russian encirclement, in the Russian world," said Porfirije.

Kurti, in an article in X, shared parts of Porfiria's discussions with Putin and said that his discussions are not religious diplomacy, but a partnership that endangers the region.

"The Patriarch called for a broader geopolitical reorganization under Russian leadership, emphasizing that 'the small (Serbian) ship sailing in a troubled sea must always be tied to a large Russian ship.' He also suggested that Serbia's stance towards its neighbors – Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro – depends on Russia's global position. This is not religious diplomacy, but a strategic partnership of authoritarian regimes, which puts the region in serious danger," Kurti wrote, reports Telegrafi.

A concerning development emerged from yesterday's meeting between the Serbian Orthodox Patriarch and Vladimir Putin in Moscow. The Serbian Orthodox Church has long played an active political role, but the explicit alignment in the meeting's transcript is revealing—especially...

- Albin Kurti (@albinkurti) April 24, 2025

Kurti also said that Kosovo stands by democratic principles and aspirations and rejects agendas driven by authoritarian powers.

Read too Serbian Patriarch in Kremlin supports "Russian world", condemns the West and conveys messages to Putin about Kosovo

The acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kosovo, Donika Gërvalla, has also reacted to Patriarch Porfirije's positions.

She said that Porfiria's statements in Moscow violate Kosovo's sovereignty and incite division throughout the region.

"Porfiria's words are not weightless words – they convey a vision of the past, not the future. The future of the region is not built on nostalgia for domination and conflict, but on respect and coexistence," she wrote on Facebook.

"We expect a clear reaction from the European Union, as a mediator of the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue. Silence towards statements that undermine peace and incite hatred is not neutrality — it is normalization of hate speech," Gërvalla added. /Telegrafi/