His Holiness Irinej, Serbian Patriarch,
received in His Excellency Peter Poroshenko, President of Ukraiine, at
the Serbian Patriarchate in Belgrade on 3 July 2018.
The
President of Ukraine thanked His Holiness for the cordial reception,
during which they talked about various challenges that the two brotherly
peoples, Serbians and Ukrainians, have been facing. Serbian Patriarch
Irinej told President Poroshenko that he highly appreciated the position
of the Ukrainian government regarding the status of the southern
Serbian province of Kosovo and Metohia and the readiness of the
President to help while reconstructing and protecting Serbian Orthodox
shrines there. On his part, His Holiness emphasized that he had been
praying for peace in Ukraine and expressed his firm hope that all local
problems would be solved by peaceful means in a fair way.
The
reception was attended by associates of the President of Ukraine; His
Excellency Rade Bulatovic, Ambassador of the Republic of Serbia to Kiev,
and deacon Aleksandar Prascevic, PhD, head of the Serbian Patriarch’s
Office.