The head of the Serb Orthodox Church (SPC) would not apologise to Montenegro for offensive words about the position of the SPC and the Serbs in the coastal republic, a daily reported on Tuesday.

The Belgrade Vecernje novosti daily carried a statement from the SPC’s seat, confirming that Patriarch Irinej would not excuse himself for saying that his church in Montenegro lived like in the times of the Ottoman Empire while the Serb were in the same position as in the Croatian Nazi puppet state during the WWII.

Montenegro’s Prime Minister Dusko Markovic and  President Milo Djukanovic, said earlier on Tuesday they expected an apology.

Official Belgrade has so far kept mostly silent about the Patriarch’s accusations, apart from Nenad Popovic, Minister without portfolio, who said earlier on Tuesday that he supported Irinej and that the Montenegrin authorities “conduct a systematic identity genocide” over the Serbs there.