Pope Francis, hosted today at the Holy See in Vatican, a private audience with the President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci.

“Thaci stressed that Kosovo has continued to preserve patience, faith and values that we have as society – love and solidarity in family and society, respect for everyone’s dignity, tolerance and cooperation,” informs a press release issued by the Office of the President of Kosovo.

Kosovo’s Deputy Foreign Minister Petrit Selimi said in an interview for Radio Free Europe that Kosovo has created a powerful lobbying group for membership in the UNESCO. Selimi, who visited the Holy See on Tuesday, said the main topic of discussion there was Kosovo’s membership in the UNESCO. He mentioned Serbia’s negative discourse against Kosovo’s membership and highlighted a recent statement by Serbia’s ambassador to the UNESCO, Darko Tanaskovic.