Kosovo’s outgoing Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, defied warnings from Western partners today by laying the foundation stones for two new bridges connecting North and South Mitrovica — a city long emblematic of Kosovo’s ethnic and political divides.
The ceremony took place despite a last-minute public call from the German Embassy in Pristina and prior warnings from the European Union, urging the government in Pristina to refrain from unilateral actions, including building new bridges alongside the main one over the Ibar River.
Still, Kurti appeared undeterred. Wearing a helmet and high-visibility vest, he first laid the cornerstone for a planned vehicular bridge near the northern municipality, before traveling south to break ground for a pedestrian bridge that will connect southern Mitrovica with the ethnically mixed Kolasinska neighborhood in the north, near Suvi Do.
“We want more communication and circulation, more exchange and cooperation between the two municipalities,” Kurti said in Serbian after the second ceremony, underscoring his government’s narrative that these infrastructure projects are meant to unite communities, not divide them.
“Bridges are not against anyone — they are for all citizens: Albanians, Serbs, Bosniaks, Roma, and others,” he added. “With two or more bridges over the Ibar, things will only get better.”
According to Albanian-language outlets, the German Embassy echoed the EU’s concern, warning that such moves could fuel instability in the north. The EU had already urged the Kosovo government to “refrain from unilateral actions, including the construction of additional bridges next to the main one.”
Kurti dismissed the criticism and said his administration expects support from Brussels.
“Governments that build bridges deserve support,” he stated.
Kurti was accompanied by several cabinet members, including caretaker Interior Minister Xhelal Sveçla — who earlier in the day laid the cornerstone for a new police station in Zubin Potok — as well as Mitrovica North mayor Erden Atić and South Mitrovica deputy mayor Arijanit Tahiri.
But the symbolic gestures were not without tension. Several members of the Serbian Democracy party were detained on the northern side of the Ibar while protesting Kurti’s visit.
A Political Bridge-Building Strategy?
The two new bridges are part of a broader infrastructure push that began earlier in June, when North and South Mitrovica municipalities formed a Joint Committee and signed an inter-municipal memorandum with Kurti’s presence. These moves were followed by the announcement of the bridge projects and the display of architectural models placed right next to the main Ibar bridge — a long-contested structure at the heart of ethnic tensions.
The main Mitrovica bridge has been a symbolic flashpoint for years and remains blocked to vehicular traffic, pending technical assessments under a 2016 EU-brokered agreement. The EU recently confirmed it conducted load-testing on the bridge in late June, although Kosovo authorities claimed they had not been informed — a claim effectively contradicted by EU officials.
Last year, the Kosovo government attempted to open the main bridge, but the move was reportedly halted after international pressure, particularly from NATO. This time, rather than wait, Kurti’s administration opted to move forward with the construction of two entirely new crossings.
With five bridges already spanning the Ibar, critics have accused the government of distracting from ongoing institutional challenges. But Kurti insists this is the opposite: a step toward normalization and progress.
“There will come a time for the main bridge, too,” he said. “In the meantime, we are building two new ones.”
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