It is not surprising that Mr. Hashim Thaci asked the Vatican to accept the diplomatic representatives of Pristina, though he would rather asked for some kind of “liaison officer” in Rome, such as the Government of Serbia agreed to it in Belgrade for obvious practical reasons.
In any case, the request of Mr. Thaci remained only a request, said in a brief interview for Danas, Apostolic Nuncio to Serbia, Archbishop Orlando Antonini, answering the question of whether the request of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Kosovo was feasible, bearing in mind that the Vatican has not officially recognized the self-proclaimed Kosovo’s independence.
* Whether the model of papal legate can be applied in the case of Kosovo, and reciprocity in the Kosovo representation in the Vatican?
Without the establishment of diplomatic relations I do not see the possibility for reciprocity in exchange of representatives.
* How and in what way the Vatican decides about the level of diplomatic contacts?
– The practice of the Holy See, in the establishment of diplomatic relations is similar to that in other countries – on the basis of mutual interests and in accordance with the rules of international law.
* Whether meetings of Pope Francis with President of Kosovo and Thaci’s talks with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Vatican, Archbishop Gallagher actually are statesmanlike and political and whether this is a prelude to a turnaround in the current Vatican policy toward Kosovo?
– Meetings of Pope Francis with Mrs. Jahjaga and of Archbishop Gallagher with Mr. Thaci were strictly private, so they do not have necessarily the character of a forecast of possible changes in the current position of the Holy See on Kosovo. In any case, we do not have instructions about the turnaround in this regard.
Waiting for the negotiations in Brussels?
Sources of Danas, in diplomatic circles in the Vatican and the Roman Curia claim that the Holy See takes very cautious policy towards Kosovo and assess that they wait for the completion of the Brussels dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina. The same sources remind us that the Thaci’s visit to the Vatican was organized by Roman Catholic organization Sant’Egidio, famous for its diplomatic activities and as a mediator before the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, between Belgrade and political representatives of the Kosovo Albanians.
