In Blow to Serbia, 3 Neighbors Say They’ll Recognize Kosovo

By REUTERS

BELGRADE, Serbia (Reuters) — Croatia, Hungary and Bulgaria announced Wednesday that they would recognize Kosovo, a blow to Serbia’s efforts to overturn Kosovo’s month-old declaration of independence.

In a joint statement issued in their capitals, the three countries in the region said the decision was based on “thorough consideration.” They also underlined the importance of protecting the Serbian minority in Kosovo, where more than 90 percent of the residents are ethnic Albanians.

“The government has made a decision to recognize Kosovo,” said the Croatian prime minister, Ivo Sanader. “I do understand this is a difficult one for Serbia to swallow. That’s one of the reasons we have waited until now. But I don’t expect a worsening of political and economic relations because there is no alternative to good neighborly relations.”

The Croatia Mission in Belgrade, near the United States Embassy, which was attacked and burned by Serbian protesters last month, was closed for the day behind new steel shutters.

Some Bulgarian families who were worried about security left Serbia, diplomatic officials said.

A Hungarian diplomatic official said there was concern in Budapest about potential attacks on the ethnic Hungarian minority — about 300,000 people — in the northern province of Vojvodina.

But, he said, “independent Kosovo is a reality, and recognition cannot be avoided.”

Serbia’s pro-Western foreign minister, Vuk Jeremic, acknowledged the neighbors’ decision “with sadness.”

“Countries that make this decision cannot have good ties with Serbia,” he said in Greece, a traditional ally that has not recognized Kosovo.

More than 30 countries have now recognized Kosovo. Canada announced its recognition on Tuesday, reiterating the Western case that forcing its two million Albanians to rejoin Serbia after nine years under United Nations rule was not a viable option.

In Washington, President Bush authorized the sale of weapons and other defense matériel to the government of Kosovo, a step that will almost certainly inflame Serbian and Russian officials who oppose Kosovo’s independence. In a formal notice to the secretary of state required under the Foreign Assistance Act, Mr. Bush said the sales, along with defense training and military exchanges, would “strengthen the security of the United States and promote world peace.”

Serbia’s pro-Western president, Boris Tadic, said this week that ties with Croatia would suffer further. Serbs and Croats fought a war from 1991 to 1995 over the breakup of Yugoslavia.

“We want to have the best possible relations with this country,” Mr. Tadic said. “But recognition of Kosovo is certainly not an act of good will between neighbors.”

In the Kosovo Serbian stronghold of Mitrovica, United Nations police officers returned to the base they were forced to abandon Monday in the worst riots yet over Kosovo’s independence.

NATO says the violence was orchestrated by one faction in the Serbian government. The Belgrade daily Blic on Wednesday cited officials as saying that Slobodan Samardzic, who is the minister for Kosovo and among those who advocate a tough stance, had advocated keeping tensions high.