Kosovo officially opened its embassy in Jerusalem after becoming the first Muslim-majority territory to recognize the city as Israel’s capital.
The move was in exchange for Israel’s recognition of Kosovo, a major victory for Pristina’s efforts to gain global recognition for the independence declared in 2008 after a war with Serbia in the 1990s.
The embassy was opened during a brief ceremony during which the Kosovo flag was raised in front of the building in Jerusalem, the Kosovo Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Serbia refused to recognize the independence of its former province, so while Kosovo is now recognized by much of the western world, its rejection by Belgrade’s main allies, Russia and China, blocked it outside the United Nations.
Israel was another major obstacle until last month, when it established diplomatic ties with Kosovo. In return, Kosovo followed the controversial leadership of former U.S. President Donald Trump in recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish state.
Trump had discussed the Israel-Kosovo agreement in Washington during economic negotiations with Serbia and Kosovo in September. Kosovo’s decision drew criticism not only from Muslim-majority countries such as Turkey, but also from Europe.
Jerusalem’s status remains one of the biggest points of conflict in the long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, and most countries have their embassies in Tel Aviv.
In one of Europe’s most intractable disputes, Serbia has rejected Kosovo’s independence since it broke out in a 1998-99 war that was ended only by a NATO bombing of Serbian troops.
Both Kosovo and Serbia face growing pressure from the West to resolve the stalemate, seen as crucial to both sides’ accession to the EU. More than 13,000 people died in the war, mainly Kosovo Albanians, who make up the majority in the former province.