Kosovo’s new foreign minister has said she considers the opening of the country’s embassy in Jerusalem to be “a done deal”, The Associated Press reports.
Foreign Minister Donika Gervalla was asked during an interview about the pressure Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has put on Kosovo’s new government to reconsider the country’s recent opening of an embassy in Jerusalem.
“I believe that the issue of our embassy in Israel is a done deal. Why is it a done deal? Because we cannot get involved in diplomatic adventures to reconsider an issue that already has ended,” Gervalla was quoted as having said during the Tuesday night interview with online news site Kallxo.com.
She added that Kosovo wants to strengthen ties with Israel but also wants to have “a good friendship, good ties with Palestinian authorities.”
Kosovo recently formally opened its embassy to Israel in Jerusalem, after the establishment of diplomatic ties with Israel on February 1.
This past September, it was announced that Serbia would be relocating its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem by July 2021 and that Kosovo would recognize Israel.
These moves were included in an agreement on economic normalization between Serbia and Kosovo which was signed at a meeting with then-US President Donald Trump in the White House.
Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi said at the time that "mutual recognition between Kosovo and Israel is a historic achievement."
Last week, Erdogan urged Kosovan Prime Minister Albin Kurti to reconsider the country's decision to open an embassy in Jerusalem.
Kosovo’s move was condemned by the Jordanian government, which called it "a blatant violation of international law and international decisions."
The Palestinian Authority, which wants Jerusalem to be the capital of a future Palestinian state, similarly condemned Kosovo for opening the embassy in Jerusalem.