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Democratic lawmakers in the United States, longtime observers of the Balkans, and Kurti himself say U.S. support for the vote of no confidence played an integral role in toppling the government, which had been in power for less than two months. Kurti was reportedly seen as an obstacle to efforts by the United States’ Serbia-Kosovo envoy, Richard Grenell, to score a foreign-policy victory for the Trump administration by brokering a deal between Serbia and Kosovo, which fought a war in the late 1990s. 

This specific official has this specific stance, which is identical to that of Belgrade. And this is a first. Never, in our 30-year relationship since 1989, has an American envoy to the Balkans had an identical stance with Belgrade.

We have a very weak president who is trying to be tough internally while counting his days in office. I think Ambassador Grenell is using the situation, utilizing the shortcut between Thaci and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic toward a certain agreement, to facilitate it and to crown it with a fiesta as a success in the international arena for himself and perhaps this administration. So he saw this potential for a quick deal, for a quick fix between the two presidents, and he doesn’t care very much about the contents [of the agreement].