Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo faces economic blockade

Kosovo Albanians are trying to impose an economic blockade of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the self-proclaimed republic of Kosovo, Russia's OSCE envoy, Alexander Lukashevich, said on Thursday.

"The Serbian Orthodox Church still faces mistreatment. Kosovo Albanians are trying to impose an economic blockade on it, to deprive it of its property and all means of subsistence," the Russian diplomat told a session of the OSCE Permanent Council.

As an example, Lukashevich cited the controversies over the Visoki Decani monastery, which is designated by UNESCO as a heritage site in danger. Local authorities ignore various decisions, including court rulings, which confirm the monastery's property right to the adjacent territory. In addition, he said, a monastery in Dakovica was recently besieged by radicals, and police had to intervene and deliver food and other necessities to...