US Recognizes Kosovo

By LARRY MARGASAK – 1 hour ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush on Monday hailed Kosovo's historic bid for statehood and the U.S. government extended formal recognition to it as "a sovereign and independent state."

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in a statement that Bush "has responded affirmatively" to Kosovo's request to establish diplomatic relations.

"The establishment of these relations will reaffirm the special ties of friendship that have linked together the people of the United States and Kosovo,:" the statement said.

Rice welcomed "the commitments Kosovo made in its declaration of independence" to implement a United Nations-backed plan, "to embrace multi-ethnicity as a fundamental principle of good governance, and to welcome a period of international supervision."

"The unusual combination of factors found in the Kosovo situation — including the context of Yugoslavia's breakup, the history of ethnic cleansing and crimes against civilians in Kosovo, and the extended period of U.N. administration — are not found elsewhere and therefore make Kosovo a special case," she said. "Kosovo cannot be seen as a precedent for any other situation in the world today. "

Earlier, Bush, touring Tanzania, declared that "the Kosovars are now independent."

Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leadership announced its independence from Serbia over the weekend, and suspense gripped the province on Monday as its citizens awaited key backing from the United States and key European powers.

During an interview on NBC's "Today" show, Bush added, "It's something that I've advocated along with my government."

By sidestepping the U.N. and appealing directly to the U.S. and other nations for recognition, Kosovo's independence set up a showdown with Serbia — outraged at the imminent loss of its territory — and Russia, which warned it would set a dangerous precedent for separatist groups worldwide.

Serbia recalled its ambassador from Washington over the U.S. decision, and it has threatened to recall its envoys from all countries that establish diplomatic ties with Kosovo, though it said it would not sever relations.

Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns, in a news conference, said, "The Russians aren't going to be surprised by our position."

"I do not expect any kind of crisis with the Russians over this," he added.

Burns said the nearly 17,000 NATO troops in Kosovo, including 1,600 U.S. forces, would remain in the country.

He also said that a donors conference would be held soon, and announced the United States was committing $334 million in 2008 in addition to the $77 million in U.S. assistance in 2007.

In her statement, Rice noted that nine years ago NATO acted to end attacks on the Kosovar Albanian population.

"This timely international intervention ended the violence, leading to a United Nations Security Council decision to suspend Belgrade's governance and place Kosovo under interim U.N. administration," the statement said.

"Since that time Kosovo has built its own democratic institutions separate from Belgrade's control," it said. "Last year, U.N. Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari developed a plan to build a democratic and multi-ethnic Kosovo and recommended Kosovo be independent, subject to a period of international supervision."

"In light of the conflicts of the 1990s," the statement said, "independence is the only viable option to promote stability in the region. The United States supports the Ahtisaari Plan and will work with its international partners to help implement it. "

Kosovo had formally remained a part of Serbia even though it has been administered by the U.N. and NATO since 1999, when NATO airstrikes ended former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic's crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists, which killed 10,000 people.

In April 2007, Ahtisaari recommended that Kosovo be granted internationally supervised independence. But talks that followed failed to yield an agreement between the ethnic Albanian leadership, which pushed for full statehood, and Serbia, which was willing to offer only autonomy.

Bush said Monday: "The Ahtisaari plan is our blueprint forward. We'll watch to see how the events unfold today. The Kosovars are now independent."

Serbia made clear it would never accept Kosovo's statehood. On Monday, Serbia said it would seek to block Kosovo from gaining diplomatic recognition and membership in the U.N. and other international organizations.

European Union nations have stood deeply divided over whether to recognize Kosovo's independence as their foreign ministers gathered in Brussels, Belgium, to try to forge a common stance. Britain, France, Germany and Ireland indicated they would push ahead with recognition. But Spain, which has struggled with its own separatist movement in the Basque region, called Kosovo's declaration illegal.

On Sunday, Bush said the U.S. would work to prevent violent clashes following the historic announcement.

"The United States will continue to work with our allies to do the very best we can to make sure there's no violence," Bush said several hours before Kosovo's parliament approved the declaration.