Diplomatic ties with Kosovo begin today

[Bilal9]

Everyone has their own reasons but I know a lot of countries are against Kosovo's independence which is why Germany is pushing Serbia for a deal because that would solve a lot of EU headaches.

China is against Kosovo because of Taiwan. India because of Assam, Kashmir, etc. Russia is more complicated. NATO bombed Serbia in 1999 and then Kosovo unilaterally declared independence in 2008 which G.W. Bush quickly accepted. This violates the principals of state sovereignty and non-interference. Russia followed that by going into South Ossetia which is a region disputed by Georgia. Russia used Kosovo as a template for Crimea. This is why Kosovo's entry into UN is a huge issue for the Security Council.

Cyprus won't accept Kosovo into EU because of the Turkish Cypriot issue. Spain faces secessionist movements in Catalonia and Basque. Serbia, Greece and Romania follow Orthodox Christianity. They all have been allies historically along with Slovakia against the Ottoman empire. None of them have any love for the Balkan Muslims. Greece is worried about its own Albanians minority getting ideas. While Romania and Slovakia have Hungarian minorities who are watching Kosovo issue closely.

Thanks for the detailed explanation. The Kosovans are against terrible odds but we should give them our support, just like the Turks keep giving support to all Muslim causes....

If you look at the map, my impression is Slovenia, Hungary, Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina are nice places to visit and somewhat improved economies, but Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia, Albania and of course Kosovo are second tier economies in that area (lot better than the subcontinent though...). These are the hinterland economies of Europe which need our support and we should reciprocate their outstretched hand of friendship to form strong brotherly economic relations in that area.

In many ways, our economy and the Southern Balkan Muslim countries economies (such as Albania, Bosnia and Kosovo) can be complementary.

Our investment in these economies (for re-export of goods to the EU especially) can bring tremendous benefits when they finally get EU membership.