Kupchan: Kurt to hear Allies hear about the Ibri Bridge

Former director of European affairs at the US National Security Council Charles Kupchan says that there is no cooling of reports between Kosovo and the United States of America, but according to him some of Kurt's movements have been provocative for official Washington.

It is assessing that it is not the right time for the Iber River bridge to be opened at this stage, as Kosovo's government insists with Albin Kurti.

American professor Charles Kupchan, says Prime Minister Kurti may have the political right to open the bridge but that it would not be the right thing to do now.

According to Kupchan, these Kosovo prime minister moves are viewed as unilateral by the international community.

The prime minister's political and legal right to open the bridge is not necessarily the right thing to do when we are at the wide goal of normalising relations with Serbia, with the government in Serbia, and creating a peaceful situation and towards progress in Kosovo. So I worry that if Prime Minister Kurti moves unilaterally, he does not have the reconciliation of Serbs in the north, the reconciliation of Belgrade, he does not have the support of the US and NATO countries. This move could do more harm than good”, he said of Tv1.

The former director of European affairs at the US National Security Council has also commented on reports between the Kosovo government and official Washington.

Kupchan sees no cooling of reports between Kosovo and the US, though, as he says, some decisions Kurti made for the US have been provocative.

No, I hate to call it a breakup or a cold that would be a rather harsh term. But I think that when you look at Prime Minister Kurti's mandate, and you see the election of mayors in the north from a very small minority, changing car registration signs, the issue of identification, of the currency, has a US view, in Washington that Prime Minister Kurti sometimes takes steps that are provocative, that are not in the spirit of movement towards normalisation, and the implementation of the agreement which the EU has put on the table, although the parties have not signed the agreement, have declared its support of”, the American professor says.

The US State Department has urged the Government of Kosovo to return to constructive and close engagement with Washington, the European Union and NATO.

At the same time, the US has called on the Kosovo government not to open the bridge over the Iber River to the district, as this, according to them, could spur tensions in the northern part of the country.