Kurti Wants Permanent US Base at Bondsteel

Kosovo’s acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti asked on August 11 in Pristina that Camp Bondsteel near Urosevac be turned into a permanent military presence of the United States. He raised the request after meeting with US Senator Joni Ernst, a Republican from Iowa and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, who was visiting Kosovo these days.

“Camp Bondsteel should be turned into a permanent military presence in our Republic,” Kurti said after the talks in his office. The rationale he gave went beyond the base’s own territory.

“Such a presence would serve as a guarantor of peace and security in Kosovo and the region, as well as a strategic base for NATO operations in Southeast Europe,” he said.

In the statement he did not specify what legal status the base would receive, nor did he report how Ernst reacted to the proposal. The senator has not commented publicly.

What Is Bondsteel Today?

Camp Bondsteel is the headquarters of KFOR’s Regional Command East, traditionally commanded by American officers. Alongside troops from other NATO countries and partner nations, American soldiers also serve there. A US presence at Bondsteel, in other words, already exists, but it rests on the mandate of an international mission. What Kurti is asking for is a change to that foundation: a shift from the KFOR mandate to a permanent bilateral arrangement between Pristina and Washington.

The previous meeting between Kurti and Ernst took place in Washington in September 2025. This time Kurti described her as one of the most vocal advocates for Kosovo in Congress and thanked her for her support. Besides security, he also spoke about economic growth and about what he described as an improvement in the internal security situation.

Two Opposite Assessments in Two Days

The same senator had heard the opposite assessment a day earlier, on August 10, at the Gracanica monastery. Bishop Teodosije of Raska and Prizren briefed her on the position of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Serb community, pointing to a “visible deterioration of the security and institutional situation” and a growing sense of insecurity among Serbs. The meeting was also attended by Anu Pratipati, charge d’affaires at the US Embassy in Pristina.

Teodosije did not stop at a general assessment. He cited specific cases:

• security problems during church gatherings at Gazimestan and at the Holy Archangels monastery
• the demolition of a number of Serb houses at Lake Gazivode
• administrative and institutional pressure and the selective application of the law
• multiple arrests of Serbs without clear evidence of criminal responsibility

So over the course of a single visit, Ernst was given two pictures of Kosovo. Kurti spoke of improvement. The Diocese of Raska and Prizren spoke of deterioration.

The Timing of the Gracanica Visit Was No Accident

The meeting in Gracanica fell on the same day KFOR began changing the longstanding security regime at the Visoki Decani monastery and at the main bridge over the Ibar in Mitrovica. Teodosije said that transferring primary security responsibility from KFOR to the Kosovo Police at those two locations would be premature under the current circumstances, arguing that any further step must be gradual and based on verifiable conditions on the ground.

That is an assessment the Diocese had already voiced, and we have reported on it before. For the Diocese, as it stated, it was an important confirmation from KFOR that it remains the first and primary body responsible for the security of Visoki Decani, and that this is coordinated work within the existing protection system rather than a handover of responsibility. The bishop thanked the United States, NATO and KFOR for their engagement so far.

During her visit, Ernst also met with Kosovo’s acting president, Aljbuljena Hadziu, who presented her with the Presidential Medal of Merit, citing her contribution to strengthening ties with Washington and her support for the development of Kosovo’s defense capabilities. Ernst also spoke with the KFOR commander.

Her biography explains why the Bondsteel proposal was addressed to her specifically. Ernst was born in 1970, was elected to the Senate in 2014, and before that spent 23 years in the US Army Reserve and the Iowa National Guard, where she finished her career as a lieutenant colonel. She chairs the Senate Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities.

The Request Comes Amid a Stalemate in Pristina

Kurti is asking for a permanent US base at a time when Kosovo has no constituted assembly. The 30 day deadline set by the Constitutional Court has expired, and lawmakers still have no new date to continue the constitutive session. The day before meeting Ernst, Kurti said he would try daily to reach a political agreement with the parliamentary parties in order to avoid new elections.

There is no response from Washington to the Bondsteel proposal so far, neither from the US Embassy in Pristina, which confirmed the visit without mentioning the base, nor from the senator herself.