Kosovo’s caretaker Prime Minister Albin Kurti won a decisive election victory last month, strengthening his domestic mandate but leaving him with the challenge of repairing strained relations with the United States and the European Union.
Kurti’s Self-Determination movement secured more than 51% of the vote in the Dec. 28 election, according to preliminary results, after a period marked by sharp tensions with Western allies over his government’s actions in northern Kosovo, where most residents are ethnic Serbs.
The frictions stemmed from a series of moves by Kurti’s previous government, including installing ethnic Albanian mayors in Serb-majority municipalities and shutting down Serbian-backed institutions in the north. Western governments criticised the steps as unilateral and harmful to stability, and the EU imposed punitive measures that remained in place for more than two years.
At the height of the crisis in 2023, then U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that Kurti’s actions ran counter to U.S. and European advice, and Washington soon excluded Kosovo from the “Defender Europe 2023” military exercises. The United States later suspended its Strategic Dialogue with Kosovo.
Despite the international backlash, Kurti argues that his policies dismantled parallel Serbian structures and extended the rule of law across the territory.
“We are friends despite criticism. We are not true friends if we fail to normalise criticism between us,” Kurti said in an interview last month.
Western partners say they are ready to work with Kosovo’s next government, but link cooperation to progress in the EU-facilitated dialogue with Serbia.
“We hope to strengthen our partnership with the future Government of Kosovo, including the renewal of the Strategic Dialogue,” a U.S. embassy spokesperson in Pristina said. “However, this will require steps by the Government of Kosovo that advance our shared agenda for regional peace, stability and economic prosperity.”
EU special envoy for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue Peter Sorensen welcomed the conduct of the election during a visit to Pristina this week, but stressed that resuming high-level talks with Belgrade remained essential. No such meetings have taken place since September 2023.
Kurti has said Kosovo is ready for a “constructive dialogue” with Serbia, but insists that Belgrade must extradite Milan Radoičić, suspected in a deadly attack in the village of Banjska in 2023, and withdraw a letter questioning its commitment to a normalisation agreement.
Analysts say Kurti’s strong electoral mandate bolsters his position internationally, while also reducing his incentive to compromise quickly.
“The message to international actors is clear: they have to work with Kurti,” said Florian Bieber, director of the Centre for Southeast European Studies. “There is currently no strong political alternative in Kosovo.”
Still, uncertainty remains over when a new government will be formed. Complaints and vote recounts have delayed the certification of results, while Kosovo must elect a new president by March 4 or face the prospect of another round of elections.