Kosovo has officially opened its embassy in Jerusalem after becoming the first Muslim-majority area to recognize the city as Israel’s capital.
The move was in exchange for Israel’s recognition of Kosovo, a major victory for Pristina’s efforts to gain full global recognition of the independence it declared in 2008 after a war with Serbia in the 1990s.
The embassy was opened in a brief ceremony during which the Kosovo flag was hoisted in front of the building in Jerusalem, Kosovo’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
Serbia has refused to recognize the independence of its former province, so while Kosovo is now recognized by much of the Western world, the rejection by Belgrade’s main allies, Russia and China, has shut it out from the United Nations.
Israel was another important holdover until last month, when it established diplomatic ties with Kosovo. In return, Kosovo followed the controversial lead of former US President Donald Trump by recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish state.
Trump had discussed the Israel-Kosovo deal in Washington during economic talks with Serbia and Kosovo in September. Kosovo’s decision drew criticism not only from Muslim-majority countries, such as Turkey, but also from Europe.
Jerusalem’s status remains one of the biggest hot spots in the long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, and most countries have their embassies in Tel Aviv.
In one of Europe’s most persistent disputes, Serbia has rejected Kosovo’s independence since it fell apart in a 1998-99 war ended only by a NATO bombing of Serb forces.
Both Kosovo and Serbia are facing increasing pressure from the west to resolve the impasse, which is seen as crucial to both sides’ accession to the EU. More than 13,000 people died in the war, mostly Kosovar Albanians, who make up a majority in the former province.