Kurti highlighted that Kosovo is recognized by 117 countries, though five EU member states – Spain, Greece, Romania, Slovakia and Cyprus – have so far failed to do so. With four of these countries (all but Cyprus) also being in NATO, Kosovo’s accession to the two blocs is being stymied, Kurti said.
He added that he thought Kosovo, like Poland, would join NATO before the EU, accession to both of which Kosovo seeks “not only to benefit but also to contribute.”
Kurti said those member states that do not officially recognize Pristina use its unresolved conflicts with Serbia as a justification. In this context, he said an agreement signed with Serbia last year aimed at normalizing relations.
“The problem is that Serbia kept violating this agreement and we are very far from implementing it,” he added.
Kurti went on to argue that one hurdle in relations with Serbia is the fact that “they refused to emancipate themselves from Putin.”
“Serbia is the only country in Europe, together with Belarus, that did not join EU and U.S. sanctions against the Russian Federation,” he said.
Kurti argued that Belgrade’s ties with Moscow underlay the “ever continuing tension between Kosovo and Serbia,” accusing Serbia of being aggressive towards his country “so they will be liked by the Russian Federation.”
The Kosovan prime minister said he hoped that during the current term of the European Commission, Serbia would be forced to choose between “a despotic Russian Federation, President Putin,” and “democracy, political pluralism, rule of law, and human rights.”
Commenting on the war in Ukraine, he said: “Our generation is living in the time of Russian fascism. And we should fight it with democracy, with sovereignty. We should fight with solidarity of all European nations and states.”
