The Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Porfirije, has been allowed to visit Kosovo, as part of the preparations for the Holy Water Day, which is celebrated on January 6. 

The office of the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, said that the head of the Kosovo Government responded positively to the request for permission to enter the country. 

This request was sent to Kurti by the Minister for Return and Communities, Nenad Rashic. 

"Patriarch Porfirije has warned that this afternoon he will come to the border crossing between Kosovo and Serbia and that he wants to enter without his bodyguards, even though he has not requested a visit, according to the provisions of the existing agreement," the announcement said. 

According to the Government, Porfirije's warning that he will enter Kosovo without a bodyguard is "another proof that Kosovo is a safer country than Serbia". 

Patriarch Porfirije had planned to visit Kosovo at the end of December. However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora of Kosovo had set some conditions before he was allowed to visit Kosovo.