MOSCOW, December 30, (RIA Novosti) - Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II has again declared against the policy of double standards in solving the problem of Kosovo Serbs.

"Kosovo is a long-suffering land of the Serb people liberally drenched in their blood," the Patriarch said on Thursday in Moscow at a meeting with journalists.

"On that land, in the very heart of Europe, more than 150 unique UNESCO-protected monuments have been destroyed. This has been done with the tacit consent of western media," said the Patriarch.

"We have drawn and continue to draw attention to this, but, unfortunately, double standards are in operation," Alexy said.

He emphasized that the Serb people on the territory of Kosovo is practically deprived of the possibility to take part in elections and the last polls were mainly participated in by Albanians.

"We have staged in Moscow a Together with Serbia action to focus attention on this tragedy and also to help erect a temple of St Savva of Serbia in Belgrade," the Patriarch recalled, speaking of the results of the outgoing year.

Alexy also stressed that "it is necessary to preserve unity between Serbia and Montenegro". "Experience shows how difficult it is for separated countries to survive. We also see this in the case of the USSR and in the case of Yugoslavia," the Patriarch indicated.

Original URL: http://en.rian.ru/rian/index.cfm?prd_id=160&msg_id=5270039&startrow=1&date=2004-12-30&do_alert=0

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