Why new borders are being drawn within Serbia if Europe is uniting by erasing borders between states, Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Irinej has asked.

"I am not dealing with politics when I'm saying this but, as the Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church, I am contemplating further consequences of a fragmented Serbia living in a 'united' Europe. This is too serious issue to be dealt by politicians with a limited duration," the Patriarch told Vecernje Novosti daily.

The "Kosovo wound" is a decades-old national trauma and a sensitive European issue that needs to be resolved through a broad international dialogue, he says.

"The religious leaders and the intellectual elites of all nations and states need to get involved in this. All disputes, and in other European countries, need to be discussed, such as Spain and the United Kingdom," Irinej says.

The head of the SPC also says that he wants to believe in the sincerity of top state officials when they say that Kosovo will not be recognized.