JERUSALEM, 3 February, 2021 (TON): Israel and Kosovo established diplomatic ties on Monday, with the Muslim-majority territory recognizing Jerusalem as the Jewish state’s capital.

Kosovo moved its embassy to Jerusalem that recognized the city as Israel’s capital.

The decision followed Israel’s normalization of ties with four Arab states under a series of deals made by the former US President Donald Trump, collectively known as the Abraham Accords that took place last year.

Unlike Kosovo’s decision to relocate their embassy, those who were part of the Abraham Accords - the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan have not recognized the city as the capital yet.

As a bilateral relationship, Kosovo gets recognition from Israel as the country looked to legitimize its 2008 declaration of independence from its former war foe Serbia.

The officials signed joint declarations separately on Monday in Jerusalem and Pristina.

Kosovo’s top diplomat, Meliza Haradinaj-Stublla, extended gratitude towards Israel for becoming the 117th country to recognize its independence and joining much of the Western world.

“Kosovo has waited for a very long time to establish diplomatic relations with Israel,” Haradinaj-Stublla said.

It is clear that the ties between the two are burgeoning as the two countries have recognized each other; nevertheless, there are states like China, Russia, and other five EU member states that have not granted recognition to Kosovo.