Pope Francis' visit would be of state and national interest to Serbia, which is why it is important to achieve consensus in our country, says Ivica Dacic.

The foreign minister and first deputy PM also said that the role of the Vatican is invaluable as Serbia fights for Kosovo and Metohija. Dacic added that he understands the opposiiton of the Serbian Orthodox Church to the visit, but that the pope is not only a religious leader, but also a statesman.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic reiterated on Thursday that "Serbia leads an independent policy, and citizens are the ones who decide."

Vucic added that in terms of Kosovo, "we need to have a realistic, rational and responsible approach, look to the future, and succeeding in making the most of what we can do."

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic late on Thursday showed Papua New Guinea's official note rescinding its recognition of Kosovo as an independent state.

This is the sixth country to have done so in the past several years.

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"The 'Berlin Process' is very helpful. I am extremely grateful to German Chancellor Angela Merkel because she has created it. Otherwise nothing would have moved. Now some things are progressing and it depends much on the region for the things to move forward," says the former Vice-Chancellor of Austria, Erhard Busek.

US President Donald Trump could visit Serbia at the earliest by the end of the year or early next spring, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic has said.

"The organization of this kind of visit is a serious business that takes place for a few months. Taking into account all that, Trump could come to Serbia either in the spring ir the end of the year," Dacic told Srpski Telegraf.
According to him, this visit would be of great importance to Belgrade.

There is "a great chance" that the solution to the Kosovo problem lies in the meeting between Russian and US presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, Blic write today.

Belgrade-based daily Blic adds that "the two leaders should reach an agreement on that issue."

The daily claims, citing diplomatic sources, that this is "the plan of the Serbian leadership and President Aleksandar Vucic."

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic on Saturday received State Secretary of the Holy See Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Serbian government announced.

Ivica Dacic says the demands to include "new players" in the Kosovo dialogue now - only to strengthen Pristina's position - are completely unreasonable.

The foreign minister of Serbia at the same time stressed that pressure will not accelerate reaching a compromise.
"The United States is already very much well informed and indirectly involved in the whole process," Dacic told the daily Vecernje Novosti, commenting on the call of Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj to engage the United States in the dialogue.

Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said on Friday that another country has revoked its recognition of Kosovo.

The first deputy PM told reporters that the name of the country would be revealed next week - as the note is not yet official.
During a news conference at the Foreign Ministry in Belgrade, Dacic said that whenever a country withdraws its recognition of Kosovo diplomats from the West and Kosovo's Foreign Minister Behgjet Pacolli travel to that country to persuade them not to do it.

Justice Minister Nela Kuburovic says that Serbia is committed to resolving the case of the murder of Bytyqi US citizens.

According to her, the Serbian authorities are working on this process and finding and sanctioning the responsible persons.