A woman wears a face mask with the flags of Israel and Kosovo during a virtual ceremony to sign an agreement establishing diplomatic relations between Israel and Kosovo in the Israeli foreign ministry in Jerusalem February 1, 2021. Photo: REUTERS/ Amir Cohen

Over the past two years, I have written several opinion pieces about the situation in Kosovo, and how successive governments have failed their people. But when Prime Minister Kurti assumed power, I felt gratified that Kosovo finally elected a prime minister who would rise to the occasion and lift his country from its 12 years of doldrums.

With the best intentions, however, Kurti’s priorities did not fall in line with what the public wants and needs. He became obsessed with what Serbia’s President Vucic says or does, and in particular, he wanted to assert his power on the ethnic Serbian community in Kosovo. I still believe that Kurti can change course and put his country on a trajectory consistent with his vision to make Kosovo an independent and prosperous democracy — but only if he re-prioritizes his domestic and foreign agenda.

He has recently called for fixing ties with Serbia, which hopefully signals a brighter future.

There are five facts that could dramatically change the course of Kosovo for the better.

To begin with, the EU and the US are ultimately the guarantors of Kosovo’s independence. After all, these two powers made it possible for Kosovo to become a sovereign state. It would be strategically self-defeating if they were to renege on their commitment. Kurti has demonstrated shortsightedness by not following their advice, and instead of strengthening the critical ties between his country and the EU-US, he rebuffed them, especially in connection with the need for new elections in the predominantly ethnic Serb-majority areas in North Kosovo.

The most recent election was boycotted by the Kosovar Serbs; only five percent of the total population of the area voted. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated in response to the unrest, “We strongly condemn the actions by the Government of Kosovo that are escalating tensions in the north and increasing stability.”

It is perplexing as to why the prime minister of Kosovo, a country that depends almost exclusively on the US’ and EU’s political backing, economic aid, and security guarantees, would defy their recommendations in connection with the majority-Serb municipalities in Kosovo. This has led US figures, including US ambassador to Serbia Christopher Hill, to state bluntly about Kurti: “We have some very fundamental issues with him on whether we can count on him as a partner.”

Second, Kurti does not appear to appreciate the fact that for the US and the EU, Kosovo is part and parcel of their overall strategic interest in the Balkans, especially now, when the Ukraine war is raging and Russia’s President Putin will do everything in his power to destabilize the region. And given the religious, historic, and cultural affiliation between Russia and Serbia, it is obvious that Putin would exploit that relationship to the maximum extent to serve his immediate interests.

Thus, for the US and the EU to reduce Putin’s influence on Vucic, they need to accommodate Vucic, but only up to a point, without compromising Kosovo’s national security. This is not to suggest that Vucic’s refusal to recognize Kosovo and his lack of cooperation are acceptable, but alienating him unnecessarily is counterproductive to both Kosovo’s national and the US-EU’s strategic interests.

Third, Kurti has and continues to devote inordinate time to the majority-Serb municipalities. Starting with the dispute over license plates, to the discord over the Association of Serb Municipalities, to the ill-fated elections in the Serb-majority areas, all of these issues distracted Kurti from his primary task of attending to his people’s needs.

Indeed, regardless of how far Serbia might go to prompt the Kosovar Serbs to engage in any kind of anti-government activities, they cannot threaten Kosovo’s independence in any meaningful way. Although Vucic will not admit it, he knows only too well that he cannot now or at any time in the future seize the Serb-majority areas in Kosovo.

Fourth, it is rather puzzling that for a prime minister who ardently seeks to integrate Kosovo into the EU, he is alienating the very Union he wants to join, while failing to take all the necessary measures to meet the EU’s socio-economic, political, and democratic standards. From the day he rose to power, Kurti should have invested most of his time, resources, and political sway to drastically improve the living standard and quality of life of every ordinary citizen of Kosovo.

He should have focused on much of what he promised to do if elected. This includes economic development, attracting domestic and foreign investments to provide job opportunities, and preventing the “brain drain” that is affecting every industry and eroding Kosovo’s social fabric.

Kurti also promised to improve the educational system by building new schools, increasing pay for teachers, and creating easy access to up-to-date textbooks; modernize much of the crumbling infrastructure; provide better and more affordable healthcare; improve housing conditions; and certainly, weed out corruption. He needs to put his focus on these areas.

Fifth, although Vucic does not want to alienate Russia because of the aforementioned reasons, Vucic still wants Serbia to integrate into the EU. He knows that Serbia’s future prosperity and growth rests with the EU, and to achieve that, he will have to meet the EU’s standards by fully adhering to democratic principles and human rights and elevating socio-economic conditions in the country. But recognizing Kosovo’s independence remains a central condition for Serbia’s admission into the EU.

Since the EU has a vested interest in admitting the Balkan states into the EU and preventing Russia from establishing a strong foothold in any of the Balkan states, the EU needs to create a conducive atmosphere to achieve that objective. For this reason, the EU wants to create an even playing field that would allow Serbia to distance itself from Russia while gaining some ground toward EU integration.

But for that to happen, Kosovo must also play its part. That is, the less Kurti alienates Belgrade and the more cooperative he becomes with Serbia, the more he puts Vucic on the defensive. This is by no means an appeasement of Serbia at the expense of Kosovo, because in the final analysis, both countries must resolve their conflict if they seek admission into the EU.

I believe that Kurti might have what it takes to change course and focus on what the people are yearning for. They want jobs, they want opportunities, they want to grow and prosper, they want to feel safe and secure, they want to be free to express themselves without harm, and they want to be heard. This is a wake-up call, and Kurti will do well to listen before it’s too late.

Dr. Alon Ben-Meir is a retired professor of international relations at the Center for Global Affairs at NYU. He teaches courses on international negotiation and Middle Eastern studies.