Can Kosovo achieve NATO membership through the US-Adriatic Charter, or are such plans by Pristina overly ambitious?

Can Kosovo, through Albania's presidency of the US-Adriatic Charter Commission, become a member of the Partnership for Peace and then NATO, or is it still, as Kosovo Online interlocutors suggest, not the most realistic scenario at the moment because the biggest obstacle to this is still four Alliance member countries that do not recognize Kosovo's independence.

Vlade Radulovic, a military analyst, states that Albania's presidency of the US-Adriatic Charter Commission, which it took over on January 1, cannot in any way influence or contribute to Kosovo's NATO membership, regardless of the statements heard from politicians in Pristina or Tirana, as all decisions at the Alliance level are made by consensus, and not all members have recognized Kosovo's independence.

Radulovic also notes that, concerning Kosovo's membership in the US-Adriatic Charter, there are still no official statements from Washington on the matter, despite all the support from the United States and the West for Kosovo.

"As for the potential membership of Kosovo in that initiative, simply put, America and the collective West have their plans that they implement. From that perspective, it seems that things are more or less clear, and it would not be unexpected for something like that to happen in the future. However, on the other hand, we have not heard any statements or official statements from Washington, nor has there been any invitation, nor are there clear ideas and ambitions from official Pristina in that regard," Radulovic said to Kosovo Online.

Albanian security experts claim that, due to Albania's presidency of the US-Adriatic Charter Commission, Kosovo will be closer to both that organization and NATO.

The Democratic Party of Kosovo MP and member of the Kosovo Assembly's Committee on Security and Defense, Hisen Berisha, says that Kosovo needs to meet several criteria and make specific political decisions for membership in that initiative. Security expert Hajrullah Ternava believes that Albania's presidency will positively contribute to Kosovo's path to NATO.

Commenting on these assessments, Radulovic emphasizes that statements and interpretations by politicians are one thing, but attention should be focused on what happens on the ground and in practice. According to his opinion, the discussion about Kosovo's NATO membership should be completely separated from any potential accession to the US-Adriatic Charter.

"As for NATO, I would currently completely separate and set aside that story because keep in mind that not all NATO members have recognized the so-called Kosovo independence by consensus. Therefore, there are countries that do not recognize independent Kosovo, and since all decisions in NATO are made by consensus, and until there is consensus in NATO, Pristina will not become a member of the Alliance," Radulovic pointed out.

He believes that the issue of NATO membership, as well as the US-Adriatic Charter, is often exploited for short-term political gains.

"And this issue about the Adriatic Charter and the issue of NATO membership, many use it just for daily political points, some propaganda, and media spin, rather than having much grounding in reality. Although, as I say, the Charter is one thing, the NATO story is something much more complex and complicated," Radulovic concluded.

Partnership Commission The US-Adriatic Charter (A-5) is a regional security initiative agreed upon at the NATO summit in Prague.

So far, the initiative has been signed by the presidents of Albania, Croatia, North Macedonia, the United States, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, while Serbia, Slovenia, and Kosovo have observer status.

Security expert Nuredin Ibishi says for Kosovo Online that the biggest obstacle for Kosovo to become a member of the Partnership for Peace is the four NATO member states that have not recognized Kosovo.

"Kosovo Security Forces have met everything expected of them in terms of standards to be included in the first phase, before joining NATO, in the Partnership for Peace. So, with the announcement by the British Foreign Minister, Mr. Cameron, that he will support the start of inclusion in the phase of the Partnership for Peace, and the presidency of Albania, I think it is the right time for Kosovo to join NATO in the process of the Partnership for Peace," Ibishi said.

He explained that the Partnership for Peace was a preliminary stage of NATO integration, and that Serbia was already in that stage, however, according to him, it was not interested in becoming a member of this alliance.

"Kosovo has fulfilled all the prerequisites, and this ten-year transitional plan for the development of the KSF, which is now in the second phase, is one of the conditions that Kosovo needs to fulfill before entering the first phase of NATO integration, the Partnership for Peace. As for these non-recognitions, they have relativized lately. Spain has recognized Kosovo passports, and we have announcements from other states that they will not hinder Kosovo in this process and support from the United Kingdom that they will support the KSF to become a member of the Partnership for Peace," Ibishi said.