Turkey pushes Kosovo to reconsider embassy in Jerusalem

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has asked Kosovo’s new prime minister to reconsider Kosovo’s recent opening of an embassy in Jerusalem.

Erdogan made the request in a letter congratulating Prime Minister Albin Kurti, who took office earlier this week, as Kurti’s media office released a copy of the letter Thursday.

Kosovo officially opened its new embassy in Jerusalem last month, six week after it formally established diplomatic relations with the occupation state.

On February 1, ‘Israel’ and Kosovo established diplomatic ties, and Kosovo’s government renewed its pledge on its embassy.

The European Union at that time urged Kosovo not to open an embassy in Jerusalem.

“The EU’s position on relocating embassies to Jerusalem is clear. All the embassies of the EU member states, as well as the EU Delegation to Israel, are located in Tel Aviv,” EU spokesman Peter Stano said.

Erdogan had warned Kosovo’s government earlier that the move could damage future relations with ally Turkey.

On February 15, in a congratulatory letter from world leaders on Kurti’s victory published by Kosovo media Express, Erdogan urged Kurti to reconsider the decision of the previous government to open an embassy in Jerusalem.

“I was also pleased to learn your party’s stance that, when it comes to power, it plans to review Kosovo’s commitment to open its embassy in Jerusalem. I think it would be beneficial to avoid such a step that could cause great harm to Kosovo,” Erdogan wrote to Kurti.

The Trump administration recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in 2017 and moved the U.S. Embassy to the occupied Jerusalem in May 2018.

Such a decision prompted criticism from the Palestinians, most Muslim-majority countries, and many states in Europe, concerned that it would undermine prospects for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Last year, ‘Israel’ normalized ties with Arab states, including the UAE, Morocco, Bahrain and Sudan.