| Embassy of the United States, Pristina | |
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| Location |  Pristina, Kosovo |
| Address | Arberia/Dragodan, Rr. 4 KORRIKU Nr.25 Pristina, Kosovo |
| Coordinates | 42°39′43″N21°9′0″E / 42.66194°N 21.15000°E |
| Website | https://xk.usembassy.gov |
The Embassy of the United States in Pristina is the diplomatic mission of the United States of America in Kosovo.
Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia on February 17, 2008, which led to formal recognition by the United States and the establishment of diplomatic relations the following day. The U.S. Embassy in Pristina was opened on April 8, 2008 by then-Chargé d'Affaires ad interim Tina Kaidanow. [1] [2]
The embassy is plagued by poor air quality and unreliable electricity and internet service. [3] [4] In May 2023, the embassy confirmed sanctions against Kosovo following tensions in the northern region of the country. This decision, announced by the American Ambassador to Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier, included excluding Kosovo from the Air Defender 23 military exercise. The ambassador requested the Kosovo government to withdraw its police forces from key municipal buildings in Zubin Potok, Leposavic, and Zvecan. [5] The announcement came after pressure from U.S. senators for Kosovo to sign a peace deal with Serbia. [6]
In a referendum on 21 May 2006, the people of Montenegro opted to leave the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. This result was confirmed with a declaration of independence by the Montenegrin parliament on 3 June 2006. It simultaneously requested international recognition and outlined foreign policy goals.
The 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence, which proclaimed the Republic of Kosovo to be a state independent from Serbia, was adopted at a meeting held on 17 February 2008 by 109 out of the 120 members of the Assembly of Kosovo, including the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi, and by the President of Kosovo, Fatmir Sejdiu. It was the second declaration of independence by Kosovo's Albanian-majority political institutions; the first was proclaimed on 7 September 1990.
International governments are divided on the issue of recognition of the independence of Kosovo from Serbia, which was declared in 2008. The Government of Serbia does not diplomatically recognise Kosovo as a sovereign state, although the two countries have enjoyed normalised economic relations since 2020 and have agreed not to try to interfere with the other's accession to the European Union.
Kosovo was officially recognized as a country by the United States on February 18, 2008, one day after Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia.
Relations between Serbia and the United States were first established in 1882, when Serbia was a kingdom. From 1918 to 2006, the United States maintained relations with the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, of which Serbia is considered the legal successor.
Irish–Kosovan relations are foreign relations between Ireland and Kosovo. Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia on 17 February 2008 and Ireland recognised it on 29 February 2008.
Kosovo unilaterally self proclaimed independence from Serbia in 2008, a move which Serbia strongly rejects. Serbia does not recognize Kosovo as an independent state and continues to claim it as the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija. However, differences and disputes remain, while North Kosovo is partially under Serbian rule. Initially there were no relations between the two; but in the following years there has been increased dialogue and cooperation between the two sides.
Kosovo–Malaysia relations are foreign relations between Kosovo and Malaysia. Formal relations between the two countries first began in 2000, when Malaysia became the first Asian country to establish a liaison office in Kosovo. Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia on 17 February 2008 and Malaysia recognised it on 30 October 2008.
Italy–Serbia relations are diplomatic relations between Italy and Serbia. Kingdom of Italy established formal bilateral relations with the Principality of Serbia on 18 January 1879. The strategic partnership between the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Italy was established in Rome on 13 November 2009. Italy is one of the member states of the European Union which strongly support Accession of Serbia to the European Union. Both countries are members of the Central European Initiative, OSCE, Council of Europe and the World Trade Organization.
Serbian–Turkish relations are foreign relations between Serbia and Turkey. Serbia has an embassy in Ankara and a consulate-general in Istanbul. Turkey has an embassy in Belgrade. Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) and the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC). Turkey is a member of NATO. Serbia instead is not a member of NATO.
Israel–Kosovo relations refer to bilateral relations between Israel and Kosovo. Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia on 17 February 2008. Israel and Kosovo agreed on 4 September 2020, as part of negotiations for the Kosovo and Serbia Economic Normalization agreements, to mutually recognize each other. It was initially reported that the mutual recognition had not yet gone into effect at that point, and Israel's recognition of Kosovo was expected to be formally declared "in the coming weeks". However, on 21 September the ambassador of Israel to Serbia, Yahel Vilan, confirmed that Israel had indeed recognized Kosovo on 4 September 2020. The two countries established diplomatic relations on 1 February 2021. On 14 March 2021 Kosovo officially opened its Embassy in Jerusalem.
The Belgrade–Pristina dialogue are a series of EU-facilitated talks between the governments of Serbia and Kosovo. Serbia claims Kosovo as its southern province under United Nations administration, and rejects its independence. Kosovo considers Serbia as a neighbouring state. The negotiations began in March 2011, three years after Kosovo declared independence. They are the first negotiations between the two entities since Kosovo declared independence in February 2008.
The Kosovo and Serbia economic normalization agreements, informally known as the Washington Agreement, are a pair of documents in which Kosovo and Serbia agreed to facilitate economic normalization among themselves. The documents were signed by the Prime Minister of Kosovo Avdullah Hoti and the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić on September 4, 2020, at the White House, in the presence of the President of the United States Donald Trump.
Triggered by the Government of Kosovo's decision to reciprocally ban Serbian license plates, a series of protests by Serbs in North Kosovo—consisting mostly of blocking traffic near border crossings— began on 20 September 2021. The ban meant that individuals who owned vehicles with Serbian license plates in Kosovo would have had to switch for Kosovar license plates at a government vehicle registration center. The ban was intended to mirror a prohibition against Kosovar license plates that had been imposed by Serbia since 2008. The Government of Serbia does not recognise Kosovo's independence and considers the Kosovo–Serbia border to be temporary.
Beginning on 31 July 2022, tensions between Kosovo and Serbia heightened due to the expiration of the eleven-year validity period of documents for cars on 1 August 2022, between the government of Kosovo and the Serbs in North Kosovo. Kosovo, which declared independence in 2008, signed an agreement with Serbia in 2011 that determined the use of license plates in North Kosovo. This agreement was supposed to change license plates from the ones that were issued by Serbia to neutral ones. The agreement for the change was extended in 2016 and expired in 2021, which led to a crisis in 2021 that ended with an agreement to terminate the ban of Kosovo-issued license plates in Serbia.
Events in the year 2022 in Kosovo.
Events in the year 2023 in Kosovo.
The Agreement on the path to normalization between Kosovo and Serbia, informally known as the Ohrid Agreement, is an agreement mediated by the European Union that aims to normalize diplomatic relations between the Republic of Kosovo and the Republic of Serbia. On 27 February 2023, it was verbally accepted by Kosovar prime minister Albin Kurti and Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić and a plan for its implementation was agreed on 18 March 2023.
The Embassy of the United States in Belgrade is the diplomatic mission of the United States of America in Serbia. Serbia, being at a crucial geographic and strategic juncture in the Balkans, has maintained its significance to U.S. foreign policy.
Embassies are the main entries, while consulates-general are shown as sub-entries for each country. A full list can be found at List of diplomatic missions of the United States. | |||
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‡ Missions which are located in countries or cities that may be considered a part of more than one continent 1 Consulates-General which function as an embassy (ie. consul reports to State Department, not the respective country's ambassador) 2 The American Institute in Taiwan is ostensibly a public, non-profit organization to promote US-Taiwanese relations, but through State Department staffing & assistance, functions as an informal US diplomatic mission. | |||
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