Britain ready to recognise Kosovo's independence

Britain is ready to recognise Kosovo's independence as the Balkan province prepares to break away from Serbia today.The formal declaration is expected imminently and ethnic Albanians have been celebrating since Saturday.However, 600 British troops are on stand-by to fly there in the event of violence, as there are concerns the unilateral secession from the Serb republic could cause a flare-up in tension.The British Foreign Office has pledged support for a "supervised independence" plan created last year by United Nations envoy Martti Ahtisaari.A number of EU nations including Britain, France and Germany will recognise Kosovo's sovereignty at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday.Around 60 British police officers and judicial experts will form part of a 1,800-strong EU mission to help Kosovo with security, legal and customs issues.But the mission has been heavily criticised by Belgrade. Cabinet minister Slobodan Samardzic insisted Kosovo remained "an inalienable part of Serbia".Kosovo's independence is also expected to be recognised by the U.S. but it will be opposed by EU states Spain, Romania and Greece and Serbia's traditional ally Russia.Moscow's veto of the plans is preventing general international acceptance of the new state for the time being, although Kosovo's prime minister Hashim Thaci has said around 100 countries are ready to recognise the province's independence.© Independent Television News Limited 2008. All rights reserved.

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ITN | February 17, 2008

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