American professor Charles Kupchan, who also served as a special assistant to the president when the White House was headed by Barack Obama, spoke to Gazeta Express about the latest initiatives in Washington for Kosovo's membership in NATO and for the recognition of Kosovo's independence.
Kupchan says the Resolution initiated by Congressmen Keith Self, Ritchie Torres and Mike Lawler is an expression of a political goal and does not have much impact at the moment.
The Georgetown University professor mentions President Donald Trump's evasive policy towards NATO, the political crisis in Kosovo, and the stalled dialogue, saying that in this situation, membership in NATO and the EU is not up for discussion.
"The resolution is aspirational and, for the moment, has little effect. The Trump administration has put NATO enlargement on hold. Kosovo is experiencing a prolonged period of political instability; once again, it is heading towards elections. Dialogue with Serbia is effectively suspended. Under these conditions, any progress towards NATO or EU membership is off the table," Kupchan told Gazeta Express.
Asked about the issue of recognition of Kosovo's independence by the non-recognizing NATO quartet (Greece, Romania, Spain and Slovakia), Kupchan said that such a thing can only happen when Kosovo is close or when it has closed the problem with Serbia.
"I expect these four NATO members to move forward towards recognition only after Pristina and Belgrade are at or close to normalization," the American professor added.
In the end, Kupchan says that Kosovo could become a member of NATO sooner, since joining the EU requires a lot of work.
"I think it is likely that Kosovo will one day join both the EU and NATO. NATO membership may come first, as EU membership requires quite severe political and economic reforms," says Charles Kupchan.
On April 30, 2026, Congressman Keith Self, along with Congressman Ritchie Torres and Congressman Mike Lawler, introduced a resolution to the House of Representatives expressing strong support for Kosovo's integration into NATO.
The Resolution states that Kosovo's membership would also be a deterrent to hostile efforts aimed at destabilizing the region.
"Furthermore, as opposing forces continue to destabilize the region, the addition of Kosovo to the NATO alliance would serve as a necessary counterweight to discourage such hostile efforts and prevent another global catastrophe from occurring in the Balkans," the Resolution states.
At the same time, it is requested that the US encourage the four NATO member states, Greece, Romania, Slovakia and Spain, to recognize Kosovo's independence. /GazetaExpress/
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