Kosovo plans to exercise full sovereignty over its own affairs and will resist western pressure to compromise with former governing power Serbia, the prime minister of the Balkan nation has said.

Defending a series of moves by Pristina that have stripped Belgrade of influence over aspects of life in Kosovo, Albin Kurti told the Financial Times in an interview that his policies were aimed “not against the Serbs, but against Serbia’s illegal activities in Kosovo”.

But western powers fear his tough line will reignite tensions between the two EU hopefuls that have mired them in conflict since the break-up of former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, and threaten Europe’s stability as the continent grapples with the fallout of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.