Kosovo bans entry of Serbian Patriarch ahead of Orthodox Christmas

Authorities in Kosovo decided Sunday to ban Serbian Patriarch Porfirije from entering the country ahead of Orthodox Christmas.

The Serbian Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas on Jan. 7 under the Gregorian calendar, with the celebration lasting three days.

According to a statement from the Serbian Orthodox Church, authorities in Pristina banned Patriarch Porfirije from entering the Patriarchate of Pec Monastery and the decision was received with sadness.

It added that the Patriarch would not give up serving and the decision meant "discrimination" against Serbs living in the region.

Porfirije called on the authorities to reverse the discriminatory decision and stop the trampling of human rights.

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 Ambassadors of The Quint (the UK, Germany, Italy, the US and France) demanded that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic got barricades, built in northern parts of Kosovo and Metohija, disassembled within 24 hours, TV Pink reported Sunday.

According to the report, the envoys sent a letter with this demand to the Serbian President, stating that otherwise they will not prevent Prime Minister of the partially unrecognized Kosovo Albin Kurti, who said earlier that the removal of barricades may include casualties, from resolving the situation on his own.

Earlier, Serbian media reported that, at about 19:45 local time on Sunday, Kosovo police special forces attacked Serbs at the barricades near the settlement of Zubin Potok. After the incident in Kosovo, Vucic held consultation with Prime Minister Ana Brnabic and command of the armed forces. Head of the Serbian General Staff General Milan Mojsilovic said that the situation in the northern part of Kosovo and Metohija is difficult and requires presence of Serbian armed forces along the administrative line between the autonomous region and mainland Serbia.