UPDATE 2 - Kosovo, Israel establish diplomatic relations

UPDATES WITH REMARKS FROM SERBIAN PRESIDENT, EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - Kosovo and Israel officially established diplomatic relations on Monday with a special virtual ceremony.

The signing to formalize bilateral diplomatic ties was done by Kosovo's Foreign Minister Meliza Haradinaj-Stublla and her Israeli counterpart Gabriel Ashkenazi and the documents will be exchanged later.

Ashkenazi said he approved "Kosovo's official request to open an embassy in Jerusalem".

"Today we are writing history, we are establishing diplomatic relations between Israel and Kosovo. This is the first time in history that diplomatic relations are being established through the Zoom application," Ashkenazi said.

Meanwhile, Haradinaj-Stublla said: "Today, Israel is becoming the 117th country to recognize the Republic of Kosovo as an independent and sovereign country."

Also, Kosovo recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The ceremony ended with the unveiling of a plaque that will be placed at the entrance of the future embassy of Kosovo in Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic currently visiting Paris said that Serbia will build relations with Israel based on new circumstances.

Speaking about the establishment of diplomatic ties between Kosovo and Israel, Vucic said: We are not happy about that.”

Kosovo will be the third country to open an embassy in Jerusalem after the US and Guatemala.

The establishment of relations between Kosovo and Israel was preceded by agreements on the normalization of relations reached in recent months between the Jewish state and four Arab countries, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco.

Kosovo's ambassador to Israel will be Ines Demiri.

In last September, former US president Donald Trump had announced that the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo, who met at the White House, reached an agreement to normalize economic ties between the two counties.