As it was already preannounced through the Washington Agreement last September, Kosovo opened today officially its embassy in Jerusalem, Israel. “The Embassy of the Republic of Kosovo in Jerusalem will be strongly committed to increasing bilateral cooperation and strengthening the international profile of the state of Kosovo,” said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kosovo, adding that by opening the embassy, Kosovo has fulfilled its commitment given on February the 1st, when the Israel and Kosovo established officially diplomatic relations. The decision was applauded by the Israel government: “I attach much importance to Kosovo’s decision to open its embassy in Jerusalem,” declared the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.
Kosovo decision to open the Embassy was taken during the meeting between the outgoing Prime Minister Hoti and the President of Serbia Vučić at the White House on the 4th of September, after the mediation of the meeting by former President Trump. By opening its embassy in Jerusalem, Kosovo became the first Muslim-majority nation to have an embassy in the city. The decision was met with criticism by various partners of Kosovo. The European Union since September has expressed its concern regarding the opening of the Embassy of Kosovo in Jerusalem. “Since Kosovo and Serbia identified EU accession or EU integration as their strategic priority, the EU expects both to act in line with this commitment, so the European perspective is not undermined,” the Lead spokesperson for the external affairs of the EU Stano highlighted after the Washington Agreement. That position was reconfirmed at the beginning of February after Israel and Kosovo established diplomatic relations. “This decision is diverging Kosovo from the EU position on Jerusalem,” declared Stano.
In the meantime, Turkey, one of the closest allies of Kosovo, has warned that the decision could damage the future relations between the two countries. “I believe that it would be beneficial to avoid such a move that would cause great damage to Kosovo,” Turkish President Erdogan has previously said. In the beginning of March, the Turkish Ambassador in Kosovo Cagri Sakar met with the winner of the parliamentary elections in Kosovo Albin Kurti, where the focus of the meeting was also the issue of the location of the Embassy of Kosovo. On that occasion, Kurti declared that his government would examine the documentation left behind by the previous administration, stressing out that “recognition and the establishment of diplomatic ties with Israel is very important to Kosovo as well as an opportunity for progress.”
Although Serbia agreed as well to move its Israeli Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in July 2021, various sources says that it will not fulfill its promise, considering the mutual recognition between Israel and Kosovo.
