Surlic: Kurti is waiting for better political times and a clearer US position on Kosovo

Associate Professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade, Stefan Surlic, stated that the current Kosovo Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, is presently following a strategy of "waiting" concerning the United States, anticipating an agreement with the new administration in Washington, which currently opposes his new mandate.

"The strategy that Kurti is employing now is, in a way, to 'play dead,' waiting for a better political climate, in terms of a final agreement on ending the war in Ukraine, followed by the European Union's definitive stance in this whole process. And then, ultimately, what the US position on Kosovo will be," Surlic told Kosovo Online.

He sees Kurti's recent refusal to meet with representatives of the Albanian-American Council primarily as an attempt to be acknowledged "on a much higher level."

"Kurti wants recognition from a much higher instance within the US administration and sees no benefit in a potential meeting. Additionally, he would likely not appreciate the messages he might hear in that meeting," Surlic believes.

He clarifies that the US maintains a "constant" stance on Kosovo’s independence, but what matters more to the Kosovo Prime Minister is the fact that the new US administration does not want him in his current position.

"I think this is a period where he is lying low, waiting to receive the right invitation and possibly establish new contact or reach an agreement with the current administration in Washington," Surlic emphasized.

He argues that, despite continuity, the significance of the Albanian lobby in the US should not be overestimated.

"Of course, it was much more prominent in the early 2000s, but we are witnessing a withdrawal, primarily of US presence both militarily and civically, especially after the start of the Brussels dialogue and the signing of the Brussels Agreement. The US has abandoned the policy where its ambassador could directly issue orders to officials in Kosovo. This also marks a decline in the influence of the American lobby that promotes Albanian interests," Surlic believes.

As he says, the reasons for this should be sought in the "conclusion" that the key Albanian interests in Kosovo have already been achieved.

"With NATO’s presence, Kosovo has secured its independence, and as a result, this continuous lobbying effort has become more dispersed. Kurti or any other political faction in Kosovo cannot automatically expect that the lobby will support them. Therefore, my conclusion is that, in this region, we overestimate the significance of certain lobbying efforts, which, in recent years, have mostly had an emotional character – by senators, congressmen, and other political figures who witnessed the 1990s and, for personal reasons, saw Kosovo as their personal project, supporting it until the very end of their political careers," Surlic concluded.