By IRNA
Berlin : Germany on Wednesday extended diplomatic recognition to Kosovo, which declared its independence from Serbia on Sunday.
The decision which was widely expected, was made at a routine weekly cabinet meeting in Berlin.
The recognition of Kosovo has to be signed by President Horst Koehler before officially taking effect.
Koehler was scheduled to send a diplomatic note, stating Germany’s official recognition of Kosovo, to Kosovar President Fatmir Sejdiu in Pristina.
Berlin has also offered full diplomatic relations with Kosovo.
France was the first EU nation to recognize Kosovo, followed by the US, Turkey and several other states.
Several European Union countries, among them Spain, Romania, Slovakia, Cyprus and Greece are hesitant to extend recognition for fear it would encourage other separatist groups to follow Kosovo’s example.
Serbia protested the legality of Kosovo’s move before the UN Security Council on Monday, backed by Russia and China, which are also concerned about the signal sent by Kosovo independence to disaffected ethnic minorities.
Kosovo is the sixth state carved from the Serb-dominated federation since 1991, after Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia and Montenegro.
Tens of thousands of people were killed in ethnic clashes during the break-up of Yugoslavia during the 1990s.
Kosovo came under international supervision after NATO intervened in 1999 to protect ethnic Albanians, who are Muslims, from ethnic cleansing being carried out by ethnic Serbs, who are Christians.