From Yahoo News:PRISTINA, Serbia (Reuters) - Europe's biggest states and the United States said on Monday they were recognizing Kosovo, a day after it seceded from Serbia.
Paris was first to announce its move after a European Union foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels, and Britain, Germany and Italy followed immediately.
Then Washington said the words Kosovo's 2 million Albanians have long dreamed of.
"The United States has today formally recognized Kosovo as a sovereign and independent state. We congratulate the people of Kosovo on this historic occasion," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in a statement.
Read more ....
More News reports:
Separatists Watch Kosovo Gain Independence -- Telegraph
Hold the Fireworks: Kosovo Not Really Independent -- Pajamas Media
Britain And US Join Rush To Recognise Kosovo -- Times Online
Fireworks Exploded. Horns Were Sounded. And So The Nation Of Kosovo Was Created -- Independent
US And EU Powers To Recognise Kosovan Statehood -- Guardian
Bush: ‘The Kosovars Are Now Independent’ -- MSNBC
U.S. And Most Of The EU Recognize Kosovo -- International Herald Tribune
Recognition For New Kosovo Grows -- BBC News
My Comment: What may help Kosovo from falling into an endless civil war with its Serb citizens and Serb neighbors is the presence of Nato and its arm forces in the region. But relying on this arm presence is not the long term solution to developing trust and cooperation with your opposite numbers.
Kosovo is independent today .... yes. But to maintain this independence, a long term solution will need to be found with the Serbs. Failure to do so will ...... and declaring unilateral independence is one way to do this .... will only foster animosity and distrust.