Defense Ministry explains why Kosovo is not among the invitations for the NATO Summit

The Ministry of Defense has announced that Kosovo has not been invited to take part in the NATO Summit because it is not a member state of the Alliance and, consequently, is not included in this format as a participating state.

This clarification was given following reports published in the media regarding the absence of an invitation for Kosovo to the upcoming NATO summit.

In its response to Ekonomia Online, the Ministry stressed that the Republic of Kosovo is neither a NATO member nor part of the Partnership for Peace (PfP) program, which means it does not take part in NATO Summits in the capacity of a participating state.

The Ministry of Defense underlined that this is not a new situation, as Kosovo has not received an official invitation in the past to participate in the NATO Summit as a participating state either.

According to the Ministry, the only exceptional cases have been invitations to special activities held on the margins of the summit, such as the “Women, Peace and Security” activity, organized by the United States Department of State during last year’s NATO Summit.

Furthermore, the Ministry clarified that NATO Summits are meetings attended by the heads of state and government of the Alliance’s 32 member countries, as well as partners who may be invited on special occasions.

For this reason, the response emphasizes that the Republic of Kosovo has never been part of a NATO Summit as a participating state, precisely because it is not yet a member of the Alliance.

According to the Ministry, the Republic of Kosovo remains fully committed to its path toward full NATO membership.

The same response states that Kosovo will continue to advance reforms, meet the required standards, and strengthen cooperation with the Alliance and its member states.