The Chairman of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia and acting President of Serbia, Predrag Markovic, today received the Serbian Orthodox Bishop of Raska and Prizren, Artemije, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Belgrade, Stanislav Hocevar, and Hieromonk Irinej Dobrijevic.

The Mufti of Belgrade, Hamdija Jusufspahic, had also been invited to the meeting, but was unfortunately unable to attend because of a prior engagement.

In the frank and open talks, Mr Markovic expressed concern over violence raging across the country and asked religious leaders for suggestions on common measures to be undertaken to calm the situation.

Representatives of religious communities agreed that the talks, initiated by Assembly Chairman Markovic, were the first step towards resolving the situation, and that everything necessary had to be done to relieve tensions and apprehend the perpetrators of acts of vandalism.