Dacic to UK charge d'affaires: We reject Kearns's claims

BELGRADE - Serbian First Deputy PM and FM Ivica Dacic summoned the UK's Charge d'Affaires to Belgrade Dominic Otway to a meeting on Wednesday and rejected recent claims by British MP Alicia Kearns, who has accused the Serbian Orthodox Church of weapons smuggling from central Serbia to Kosovo-Metohija.

Due to the gravity of the claims, Dacic underscored that the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs was acting with full seriousness and expected more information and urgent verification of the claims by the UK as well as by other relevant authorities, including the Kfor mission, the ministry said in a statement.

Dacic noted that Serbia would always react to such claims, protecting its state and national interests, the statement also said.

Voicing deep concern over Kearns's claims, the Eparchy of Ras and Prizren of the Serbian Orthodox Church on Tuesday warned of very serious accusations that were criminalising the Serbian Orthodox Church and were already being used by some media outlets in Pristina to spread religious and ethnic hatred, which it said directly jeopardised Serbian priests, monks and religious sites.

It also demanded that Kfor verify the accusations immediately.

In an official statement, Kfor said on Wednesday there was no evidence to support Kearns's allegations of weapons smuggling to Serbian Orthodox churches in Kosovo-Metohija in ambulances via administrative crossings in the province.