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7 July, 2025
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  • OP/ED

    Azerbaijan dismisses claims of involvement in Israel-Iran conflict

    Elite Purges: Internal Conflict or External Design?

    Trump’s Threat of U.S. Intervention in Iran Exposes Roots of Critics’ Fears

    Crisis-Born, Purpose-Seeking: Can the EPC Define Europe’s Strategic Future?

    Serbia’s Request to the ICJ Turned Resolution 1244 into a Closed Chapter and Kosovo’s Independence into an Internationally Recognized Reality

    Unpredictable world

    Promoting Arab Culture and Language in the Framework of Cultural Diversity and Dialogue.

    ‘A Tragic Circus’: Albanian PD Figures Lash Out After LaCivita-Backed Campaign Collapses

    Erosion of Liberal Democracy in Europe Complicates Canada’s Search for Like-Minded Allies

  • Interview

    Exclusive: “Even After Tito – Tito”/ Ambassador Zlatko Kramarić on Authoritarian Legacies and Democracy’s Future in the Balkans

    The Conclusion of the Diplomatic Mission / Ambassador Dancho Markovski: Strengthening Albania-North Macedonia Relations for a Shared European Future

    A Century of Diplomatic Relations Between Albania and Russia: Exclusive Interview with the Russian Ambassador to Albania, H.E. Alexey Zaytsev

    Exclusive/ The chairman of the Freedom Party, Ilir Meta: “The will of the citizens will triumph in Albania, as it did in North Macedonia”

    Exclusive/ The Russian Ambassador to Albania Mr. Mikhail Afanasiev: Russia only aims to end that war started by the West in Ukraine

    Exclusive/ Skopje’s top diplomat to Tirana, Dancho Markovski: OSCE Chairmanship a Project of National Importance for North Macedonia

    Exclusive interview of Croatian Ambassador Zlatko Kramaric: ‘There is progress in Croatian-Albanian relations, but it is still not enough’  

    The first anniversary of the appointment as Archbishop at the head of the Catholic Church/ Mons. Arjan Dodaj: Only God can be the author of our walk!

    Azerbaijan’s Ambassador Anar Huseynov: President Aliyev’s visit to Albania opened a new page in our relations through the specific accords reached

  • Realpolitik

    Summit G 6+1! The historic Summit and Trump show! Zelensky loses 0:2! Winners and losers of the 12 day war!

    Chancellor Merz passed “the exam”! Political stupidity! 5 per cent or study Russian! The Firing East!      

    A top phone call as disappointment! Exit from Brexit! Germany at the helm! End this political shame up!

    That’s it! The quartet of hope! Shame on Kosovo! The Summit of a Community without Identity!

    Only praises and prolises for Meloni! Facts versus untruths! Immediate ceasefire and genuine peace, no deal for new occupation! Back after 60 years !

    US nuclear tariff bomb!! Europa fires back! NATO ok, but with or without Article 5? Kallas urges reforms!

    Europe riarmed! Germany’s epochal shift! Spoiled soup! EU Commissioner Kos demands reforms!

    Europe tightens the ranks! The Euro-Atlantic Alliance in danger! USA-1945!! A true Peace, not new occupation!

    WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 20: President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC.  Trump takes office for his second term as the 47th president of the United States. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

    The law of force over the force of law! Multilateral diplomacy is the victim! Euro-Atlantism in danger! Munchen split the West!

  • Current Events

    Forum of Alumni from Saudi Universities in the Balkans

    Why Iran with Nukes is a Danger – Just Look at Cuba in 1962

    When bridges divide more than rivers…

    Skopje Growth Plan Summit: Western Balkans Six Urged to Accelerate Reforms

    Summit G 6+1! The historic Summit and Trump show! Zelensky loses 0:2! Winners and losers of the 12 day war!

    The NATO Summit in 2027 will be held in Tirana.

    Exclusive: “Even After Tito – Tito”/ Ambassador Zlatko Kramarić on Authoritarian Legacies and Democracy’s Future in the Balkans

    Geneva meeting begins in bid to halt escalating Israel-Iran conflict

    From Donetsk to Northern Kosovo: Geopolitical Games with the Kosovo Precedent

  • Top News

    The NATO Summit in 2027 will be held in Tirana.

    NATO allies agree to allocate 5% of GDP to defense by 2035

    Reza Pahlavi: “This Is Our Berlin Wall Moment” — Exiled Prince Calls for Global Support as Iran Nears Regime Collapse

    Where does Donald Trump stand on the Israel-Iran conflict?

    Russia Proposes Second Round of Ukraine Peace Talks in Istanbul on June 2

    International leaders congratulate Prime Minister Rama after his victory in the parliamentary elections, securing a fourth term.

    Albania’s parliamentary elections competitive and well run but lacked level playing field, international observers say

    Top Ukrainian delegation arrives in Paris for talks with Western officials

    Marta Kos: Albania Making Rapid Progress Toward EU Integration

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  • Home
  • OP/ED

    Azerbaijan dismisses claims of involvement in Israel-Iran conflict

    Elite Purges: Internal Conflict or External Design?

    Trump’s Threat of U.S. Intervention in Iran Exposes Roots of Critics’ Fears

    Crisis-Born, Purpose-Seeking: Can the EPC Define Europe’s Strategic Future?

    Serbia’s Request to the ICJ Turned Resolution 1244 into a Closed Chapter and Kosovo’s Independence into an Internationally Recognized Reality

    Unpredictable world

    Promoting Arab Culture and Language in the Framework of Cultural Diversity and Dialogue.

    ‘A Tragic Circus’: Albanian PD Figures Lash Out After LaCivita-Backed Campaign Collapses

    Erosion of Liberal Democracy in Europe Complicates Canada’s Search for Like-Minded Allies

  • Interview

    Exclusive: “Even After Tito – Tito”/ Ambassador Zlatko Kramarić on Authoritarian Legacies and Democracy’s Future in the Balkans

    The Conclusion of the Diplomatic Mission / Ambassador Dancho Markovski: Strengthening Albania-North Macedonia Relations for a Shared European Future

    A Century of Diplomatic Relations Between Albania and Russia: Exclusive Interview with the Russian Ambassador to Albania, H.E. Alexey Zaytsev

    Exclusive/ The chairman of the Freedom Party, Ilir Meta: “The will of the citizens will triumph in Albania, as it did in North Macedonia”

    Exclusive/ The Russian Ambassador to Albania Mr. Mikhail Afanasiev: Russia only aims to end that war started by the West in Ukraine

    Exclusive/ Skopje’s top diplomat to Tirana, Dancho Markovski: OSCE Chairmanship a Project of National Importance for North Macedonia

    Exclusive interview of Croatian Ambassador Zlatko Kramaric: ‘There is progress in Croatian-Albanian relations, but it is still not enough’  

    The first anniversary of the appointment as Archbishop at the head of the Catholic Church/ Mons. Arjan Dodaj: Only God can be the author of our walk!

    Azerbaijan’s Ambassador Anar Huseynov: President Aliyev’s visit to Albania opened a new page in our relations through the specific accords reached

  • Realpolitik

    Summit G 6+1! The historic Summit and Trump show! Zelensky loses 0:2! Winners and losers of the 12 day war!

    Chancellor Merz passed “the exam”! Political stupidity! 5 per cent or study Russian! The Firing East!      

    A top phone call as disappointment! Exit from Brexit! Germany at the helm! End this political shame up!

    That’s it! The quartet of hope! Shame on Kosovo! The Summit of a Community without Identity!

    Only praises and prolises for Meloni! Facts versus untruths! Immediate ceasefire and genuine peace, no deal for new occupation! Back after 60 years !

    US nuclear tariff bomb!! Europa fires back! NATO ok, but with or without Article 5? Kallas urges reforms!

    Europe riarmed! Germany’s epochal shift! Spoiled soup! EU Commissioner Kos demands reforms!

    Europe tightens the ranks! The Euro-Atlantic Alliance in danger! USA-1945!! A true Peace, not new occupation!

    WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 20: President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC.  Trump takes office for his second term as the 47th president of the United States. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

    The law of force over the force of law! Multilateral diplomacy is the victim! Euro-Atlantism in danger! Munchen split the West!

  • Current Events

    Forum of Alumni from Saudi Universities in the Balkans

    Why Iran with Nukes is a Danger – Just Look at Cuba in 1962

    When bridges divide more than rivers…

    Skopje Growth Plan Summit: Western Balkans Six Urged to Accelerate Reforms

    Summit G 6+1! The historic Summit and Trump show! Zelensky loses 0:2! Winners and losers of the 12 day war!

    The NATO Summit in 2027 will be held in Tirana.

    Exclusive: “Even After Tito – Tito”/ Ambassador Zlatko Kramarić on Authoritarian Legacies and Democracy’s Future in the Balkans

    Geneva meeting begins in bid to halt escalating Israel-Iran conflict

    From Donetsk to Northern Kosovo: Geopolitical Games with the Kosovo Precedent

  • Top News

    The NATO Summit in 2027 will be held in Tirana.

    NATO allies agree to allocate 5% of GDP to defense by 2035

    Reza Pahlavi: “This Is Our Berlin Wall Moment” — Exiled Prince Calls for Global Support as Iran Nears Regime Collapse

    Where does Donald Trump stand on the Israel-Iran conflict?

    Russia Proposes Second Round of Ukraine Peace Talks in Istanbul on June 2

    International leaders congratulate Prime Minister Rama after his victory in the parliamentary elections, securing a fourth term.

    Albania’s parliamentary elections competitive and well run but lacked level playing field, international observers say

    Top Ukrainian delegation arrives in Paris for talks with Western officials

    Marta Kos: Albania Making Rapid Progress Toward EU Integration

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Home ENGLISH

Coronavirus Helps Bring Down Kosovo’s Government, With Nudge From US

26 March, 2020
in ENGLISH, English OP/ED
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Kosovo’s prime minister lost a no-confidence vote on Wednesday, partly because of disputes over how to respond to the pandemic. Critics say American diplomacy also played a role
By Patrick Kingsley
BERLIN — The coronavirus crisis contributed for the first time to the collapse of a national government on Wednesday after a majority of lawmakers in Kosovo voted to bring down the country’s ruling coalition, following a political dispute related in part to the pandemic.
Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s administration collapsed after his main coalition partners sided with opposition parties in a no-confidence vote against their own government, defeating Mr. Kurti by a vote of 82 to 32.
Mr. Kurti remains caretaker prime minister until a new government is formed. But his government’s collapse leaves Kosovo without strong leadership, at a time when most other national governments are seeking to extend their powers to battle the pandemic.
The vote was welcomed by the United States, whose diplomats have placed Mr. Kurti under heavy pressure since his government was sworn in last month because of his opposition to aspects of an American peace deal in the region.
But it was condemned by France and Germany, who issued a joint statement criticizing thec recklessness of bringing down a government during a pandemic.
“Kosovo needs a stable and fully functioning government to deal with this crisis,” the statement said.
The vote was partly the result of a dispute in recent days between Mr. Kurti’s party and its junior coalition partners about how to restrict daily life in the country of about 1.8 million in response to the coronavirus outbreak. More than 60 people in Kosovo have tested positive for the virus and one person has died from it, according to the World Health Organization.
To contain the spread of the virus, Mr. Kurti implemented restrictions on citizens’ movement this week — but without enacting a state of emergency.
His coalition partners supported enforcing a state of emergency that would have given greater power to Mr. Kurti’s political rival, President Hashim Thaci, who ordinarily plays a mostly ceremonial role in Kosovar life.
To show their disdain for the political infighting, Kosovars banged pots and pans from their windows on several recent days. More than 10,000 also signed a petition condemning the initiators of the no-confidence vote for a “lack of responsibility for the public interest and civic welfare.”
The vote also has drawn scrutiny to the Trump administration’s diplomacy in the Balkans.
Though the coronavirus was a major factor in its initiation, the no-confidence vote against Mr. Kurti also was triggered by a much deeper disagreement about how to resolve a decades-old impasse between Kosovo and Serbia. The debate pitted Mr. Kurti, a longtime activist, against both Mr. Thaci, a former guerrilla leader, and the Trump administration.
“This is very clearly a consequence of the hardball game that the Americans are playing right now,” said Wolfgang Petritsch, a former European Union envoy in Kosovo.
An American-led bombing campaignhelped Kosovo break free of Serbian rule in 1999, but the Balkan neighbors have never signed a final peace treaty.
Serbia has successfully lobbied dozens of countries not to recognize Kosovo as a sovereign state, restricting Kosovo’s ability to operate on the world stage. In retaliation, Kosovo imposes large tariffs on Serbian goods; the duties have cost the Serbian economy at least 160 million euros (about $175 million), according to the GAP Institute, a research group in Kosovo.
Before Mr. Kurti entered office, the Trump administration attempted to end the dispute by brokering a deal between Mr. Thaci and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.
As a steppingstone to a final settlement, the United States pushed Kosovo to rescind the tariffs in a gesture of good will to the Serbian government. Hoping to secure a quick deal, American diplomats even discussed the once unthinkable idea of returning parts of Kosovo to Serbia, alarming European leaders who feared the move might reignite ethnic conflict.
But after forming his coalition in February, Mr. Kurti immediately worked to slow the process, placing him on course for a showdown with Washington.
Amid fears that Mr. Thaci might already have secretly agreed to partition part of Kosovo, Mr. Kurti asserted his constitutional right to lead negotiations instead of Mr. Thaci and to keep the tariffs as a means of maintaining pressure on Serbia’s government.
“This is not a matter for our president and the President of Serbia — that time is gone,” Mr. Kurti said in an interview with The Times in Kosovo last month. “Our government, with me as prime minister, will chair the future dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia. The President of Kosovo is a part of foreign policy, but he cannot create foreign policy.”
That stance put Mr. Kurti in direct conflict with Mr. Thaci and Richard Grenell, who serves as a special American envoy on the issue, in addition to his roles as the U.S. ambassador to Germany and acting director of national intelligence.
To coerce Mr. Kurti into removing the tariffs, the United States froze millions of dollars in aid to Kosovo. Donald Trump Jr., who has no official government role, also publicly agreed with a U.S. senator who suggestedwithdrawing American peacekeepers from the country. Those comments terrified Kosovars, who see an American military presence as a vital guarantor of the country’s security.
The American pressure was specifically cited by Mr. Kurti’s former coalition partners as another reason for withdrawing from his government this week.
“This is a kind of, how should I say, ‘Rambo’ diplomacy,” said Mr. Petritsch, comparing the American approach to that of the hard-charging protagonist of a popular American action-film series.
“As a collateral damage,” Mr. Petritsch added, “they are going to sack a democratically-elected government.” (The New York Times, March 25, 2020)
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*Patrick Kingsley is an international correspondent, focusing on long-term reporting projects. He has reported from more than 40 countries, written two books, and previously covered migration and the Middle East for The Guardian. @PatrickKingsley

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