Original article (in Albanian) was published on 11/3/2025; Author: Patris Pustina
In early February 2025, a claim spread on social media suggesting that the U.S. had issued an ultimatum to the government of Kosovo, demanding the declaration of billionaire George Soros and his son as persona non grata. If Kosovo failed to comply, U.S. troops would withdraw from the ‘Bondsteel’ military base, the U.S. would close its embassy in Kosovo, and all financial support for Kosovo would be suspended.
Perhaps inspired by a series of unexpected actions from the newly inaugurated administration of Donald Trump, the user sees no need to provide any evidence or source for this extraordinary claim.
However, nearly a month later, and 20 days after the alleged ultimatum’s deadline, the government of Kosovo has not issued any announcement regarding the ultimatum, nor has it declared Soros persona non grata.
The U.S. Embassy in Kosovo has not announced any ultimatum, nor has it mentioned the withdrawal of its diplomatic mission from Pristina. According to the Embassy’s latest post on the X platform, on March 10, Deputy Head of Mission Anu Pratipati was in Pristina and visited the Museum of Survivors of Sexual Violence During the War.
The U.S. military has around 600 troops at Camp Bondsteel, located near Ferizaj, making it the largest U.S. military base in the Balkans. In early March 2025, the U.S. Department of Defense told Radio Free Europe that, for now, ‘there are no changes in the positioning of forces to report’.
News that the Americans will withdraw from Bondsteel as pressure on the Kosovo government have circulated over the years in Kosovo. In 2022, Kallxo colleagues debunked a similar story. In 2019, a news circulated that the U.S. would pull out of Bondsteel if the 100% tariff imposed by the Haradinaj government at the time was not removed.
