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The United States played a key role in the path to Kosovo's independence and recognized it the day after it was declared by the country's leaders on February 17, 2008. As Kosovo prepares to celebrate the 16th anniversary of its declaration of independence on Saturday, relations between Washington and the government of the country that is often considered among the most pro-American in the world, are at their lowest point.
Every important date in the modern history of Kosovo is related to American support. Regardless of which party led the White House and despite the internal American political conflicts, support has been bipartisan.
"We and our NATO allies have started bombing only after repeated efforts to find a peaceful solution to the crisis in Kosovo", said former US President Bill Clinton on March 24, 1999.
From NATO airstrikes to the declaration of independence and securing the recognitions that have been achieved so far, Washington has played a key role in these processes.
"Independence is the goal and this is what the people of Kosovo should know", said President George W. Bush in Tirana in June 2007, about 8 months before the declaration of independence of Kosovo, while becoming the first American President who visited Albania.
One day after the declaration of Kosovo's independence, the US Secretary of State, Condolezza Rice, announced through a statement that Washington recognizes Kosovo's independence.
At the end of the statement it is said: "As Kosovo begins its life as an independent state, the United States pledges to continue to be its close friend and partner."
In July of that year, President Bush received his counterpart from Kosovo Fatmir Sejdiu and Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi at the White House, making this pledge:
"The United States will continue to work with the nations that have not recognized Kosovo to convince them to do so as soon as possible," said President Bush.
"I strongly believe in the independence and territorial integrity of Kosovo and its aspiration to become a full partner in the international community and a member of the European Union and NATO," said Hillary Clinton while she was Secretary of State in the first administration of President Barack Obama.
A few years later, the ties of the Kosovo government with Washington have suffered the biggest shake-up, as confirmed during the interview of the Assistant Secretary for Europe James O'Brien with the Voice of America:
"If we are not treated as a partner, we will not treat the government of Kosovo as a partner either."
In Pristina, the government is treating this statement as if it had not been made. Prime Minister Albin Kurti, who is at the center of Mr. O'Brien's messages, spoke in Prizren a day later, saying that US-Kosovo relations are undamaged. However, he made it clear that he does not withdraw from the decision that caused the recent tensions with the USA, the removal of the Serbian dinar from use in Kosovo.
"I am concerned that the public statements of the Kosovo government suggest that the partnership with the USA will not be affected by this situation. I must be clear: this is simply not true", explained the American Ambassador in Pristina, Jeff Hovernier, on Thursday.
Mr. Kurti's government, however, has friends in Congress who disagree with the US government's approach.
"I do not agree with the approach of the American government. It's one thing to express your concerns privately to an ally, which is completely appropriate, and another thing to publicly embarrass and underestimate an ally," said legislator Richie Torres, who is also the leader of Albanian affairs in the House, to VOA in Washington. of Representatives.
"I am happy to be here not only on the day you are celebrating independence, but also that it coincides with Valentine's Day. So it is a day of double love", said US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Gabriel Escobar on February 14, the day when the Embassy of Kosovo in Washington organized a reception at the Library of Congress to mark the 16th anniversary of Kosovo's independence.
The atmosphere at this event created the impression that everything is in order in the relations between the two countries. But Mr. Escobar clarified this in his speech:
"The United States is and will always be the strongest defender of Kosovo; the most pro-Kosovo state in the world. Our relationship is with the people of Kosovo, not with a person or a party. When Kosovo is ready for a closer relationship, we will always be ready and we hope that day will come again very soon", said Mr. Escobar.
"The need to promote the recognition of Kosovo is American policy and has been since the independence of Kosovo. The faithful implementation of this policy should never depend on whether the State Department has sympathy for the prime minister," said Legislator Torres, who replaced the former co-leader of Albanian affairs in the House of Representatives, Eliot Engel.
Kosovo's ambassador to the US, Ilir Dugolli, in an 11-minute speech, mentioned sometimes directly and sometimes not, almost 10 times, Kosovo's partnership with the allies.
"Kosovo adheres to the commitment embodied in the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution, which we drafted together with our closest partners", said Ambassador Dugolli, among other things.
This is not the first time that the US has expressed concern about the lack of partnership from Mr. Kurti's government. On May 30 of last year, Washington suspended Kosovo's participation in the "Defender Europe 2023" exercises. This happened due to the non-combination of the actions of Mr. Albin Kurti's government with the west in the north of Kosovo.
In that period and especially after the attack in Banjska, the support for Kosovo increased, as did the criticism of the West that its policy is wrong, that it uses harsh language and has imposed restrictive measures on Pristina and does not do this with Serbia, which continues to cooperate with Moscow. Belgrade is the only one that has refused to join the EU sanctions following Russia's aggression in Ukraine. It is also the only European country, apart from Belarus, that continues to sign cooperation agreements with Moscow.
On February 14, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced that his country had received a new batch of weapons from Moscow.
"I think that the American government should think again about what is really happening in the Balkans and what is the situation between different countries and have a more realistic view of it," said the former American ambassador in Prishtina, Greg Delawie, to the Voice of America. served in Kosovo from 2015 to 2018.
The situation changed with the decision of the Central Bank of Kosovo not to allow the use of the Serbian dinar in Kosovo.
"Kosovo needs to pay more attention and think about how important friends really are to its continued prosperity and freedom," Ambassador Greg Delawie told VOA.
No American official, so far, has said anything concrete about possible restrictive measures against Mr. Kurti's government, but the other concern is whether this means a deeper change in American foreign policy towards Kosovo.
"It seems that there has been a deterioration of relations between the government of Kosovo and the Department of State. But I don't see any evidence that there has been a change in the foundations of Kosovo's relations with the US and American policy towards Kosovo", said the Democratic lawmaker in the House of Representatives, Richie Torres. / VOA
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