World responds to Kosovo independence

Major European powers including France, Germany and Britain, along with the United States, officially recognized Kosovo, even as officials took pains to point out that it should not serve as an invitation or precedent to other groups hoping to declare independence. That is because one of the biggest unknowns remains whether Kosovo’s declaration could rekindle conflicts elsewhere, including ethnically divided Bosnia.

As a result, the reverberations were felt from Russian-backed enclaves in Georgia to the Taiwan Strait. Spain, a member of the European Union and among the countries with soldiers serving in the NATO force in Kosovo, refused its recognition. Yet Turkey, despite its history of conflict with Kurdish separatists, chose to support Kosovo’s independence.

In a letter to Kosovo’s president, Fatmir Sejdiu, President Bush wrote: “On behalf of the American people, I hereby recognize Kosovo as an independent and sovereign state. I congratulate you and Kosovo’s citizens for having taken this important step in your democratic and national development.”

Spain is acutely sensitive to the demands of Basque and Catalan nationalists for a separate state. Cyprus is alarmed at any move that could imply that the breakaway Turkish Cypriot part of the island, which is not internationally recognized, could win diplomatic legitimacy. Greece, Romania, Bulgaria and Slovakia have also made it clear that they do not expect to grant recognition.

Russia, which firmly supports Serbia in rejecting Kosovo's independence, signaled last week that it opposed independence of breakaway regions like Abkhazia and South Ossetia in Georgia, which have had de facto independence since the early 1990s and where Moscow has granted citizenship to most residents.

Before the foreign ministers' meeting Monday, the Spanish foreign minister, Miguel Ángel Moratinos, laid down the terms of the debate, saying it was impossible for his country to accept Kosovo's declaration because "it doesn't respect international law."

China on Monday expressed "deep concern" over Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia, warning the move could lead to chaos in the Balkans.

"The unilateral approach by Kosovo may cause a series of consequences and lead to severe negative influences on the peace and stability of the Balkan region," foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said in a statement.

"China expresses deep concern about this."

Amid a flow of expressions of support for Kosovo`s declaration from some countries, mainly those from Europe, Indonesia has yet to decide whether it will recognize Kosovo`s independence. "First, we want Kosovo`s status to be decided in a peaceful way and in a dialog," he added. Marty and the ambassadors of 14 other countries in the United Nations Security Council recently held an emergency meeting to discuss the Kosovo issue. The meeting ended in disagreement about supporting Kosovo`s independence.

The Serbian parliament late Monday unanimously "annulled" the proclamation of Kosovo independence, saying it violates country's territorial integrity and sovereignty.

At an extraordinary session, 225 deputies in the 250-strong parliament voted to pass the government-proposed decision on proclaiming "null and void" Kosovo's declaration of independence.

"This annuls the acts and actions of the interim government of Kosovo that proclaim unilateral independence, because they violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Serbia," the decision said.

Serbia's sovereignty over Kosovo and territorial integrity "was guaranteed by the Serbian constitution, the UN Charter, UN Security Council Resolution 1244 ... and international law," it said.

"These acts and actions represent the violent and unilateral secession of a part of the territory of Serbia and is therefore null and void," it added.