-->

• Kosovo declared independence from Serbia on February 17, 2008. Kosovo's status had been - and still is - the subject of a political and territorial dispute between the Serbian (previously, the Yugoslav) government and Kosovo's Albanian population. Kosovo's Albanians have long favored independence from Serbia. Serbian President Boris Tadic rejected the independence bid, saying the declaration was "unilateral and illegal". Kosovo independence was strongly opposed by Russia as well as the Serbs but the U.S. and many European countries supported the move. Since the Independence declaration, tensions among ethnic Serbs in Kosovo has been steadily increasing. Serb riots in Kosovo on March 17, 2008 led to the death of a United Nations peacekeeping soldier, among others.

• Fast Facts

  1. The EU plans to send a support force of 1,800 - taking over from the current UN presence
  2. US and EU support for the declaration recommended in a report for the UN by Martti Ahtisaari
  3. Serbia offered Kosovo autonomy but not independence
  4. 20 to 22 European Union nations plan to recognize the declaration
  5. Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Slovakia and Spain will not initially recognize the declaration
  6. The United Nations has said that the EU support undermines the Security Council
  7. International negotiations began in 2006 to determine the final status of Kosovo
  8. Kosovo is one of Europe's poorest regions
  9. Ethnic Albanians: 1.5 million
  10. Around 100,000 Serbs
  11. Serbian minority live in separate areas watched over by Nato peacekeepers

• Related Mahalo Pages

  Kosovo | Boris Tadic | Tomislav Nikolic | Martti Ahtisaari | Vojislav Seselj | Kosovo Albanians | Kosovo Constitutional Status | Kosovo Status Process | CEE Countries | NATO | The United Nations | Resolution 1244 | The Ahtisaari Plan | Serbia Albanians | Slobodan Milosevic | Hashim Thaci | EU Kosovo Mission | Ihor Kinal

Categories

• View History
• Discuss on the Message Board
• Embed this Page
• Share this page