By DPA
Zagreb : Serbia’s neighbours Croatia, Hungary and Bulgaria jointly said that they are recognizing Kosovo Wednesday, a month after the province declared independence from Belgrade.
The decision will be formally announced later in the day by all three countries, the governments of the three said.
“The declaration of independence of Kosovo came after the failure of all the efforts of the international community to find a negotiated solution between Belgrade and Pristina on the status of Kosovo,” a joint statement said.
“In these circumstances the change of the unsustainable status quo was unavoidable,” said the declaration, posted on the Croatian government’s website.
Hungary, a European Union (EU) member since 2004, Bulgaria, which joined in 2007 and Croatia, which hopes to join in 2009, said they were basing their decision to recognize Kosovo on EU policies.
“The decision … is based on thorough consideration and on the conclusions adopted by the Council of the EU,” the document said.
The move is a hard blow to Belgrade’s diplomacy, which tried to discourage as many states as it can from establishing ties with what it calls a “false state on Serbian soil.”
Leading Western nations have recognized Kosovo, which declared independence Feb 17, earlier. Russia is backing Belgrade in its claim of sovereignty over what it considers its heartland province.
Belgrade has pulled home for consultations its ambassadors in each of the countries that has recognized Kosovo.