Italy will recognize the independence of Kosovo, Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema said here on Monday The caretaker diplomatic chief added that the former Serb province would be recognised as a ''sovereign state under international supervision''.
''Serbia must recognise that the question (of Kosovo's independence) is concluded. Belgrade must now look with courage towards the future and the role it can play in the Balkans''. D'Alema made his announcement after European Union foreign ministers decided that it was better for member states to recognise Kosovo individually rather than for the EU to do so as a bloc.
Kosovo unilaterally declared its independence on Sunday.
The move had the backing of the major Western powers which believe it was impossible to restore Serb rule in the province after nine years under United Nations administration.
Serbia, backed by Russia, has fiercely opposed the independence of Kosovo, its medieval heartland which is now 90% ethnically Albanian, and there is bitterness in Belgrade over the intention of many EU nations to recognise it. Britain, France, Germany and Denmark have also announced their intention to recognise Kosovo, while some other EU members prefer to take a wait-and-see approach.
Italy, France and Germany were part of the EU's contact group on Kosovo D'Alema said that while not obliged to do so by the Constitution, on Wednesday he will seek the approval of parliament on the outgoing government's intention to recognise the breakaway province.
''This is an act which, while not formally required, the government intends to do out of respect for parliament,'' he explained. He added that he expected the majority of EU members to recognise Kosovo within a month's time.
Speaking to the Senate earlier this month, the foreign minister said that recognising the ''new status'' of Kosovo was in the interests of both Italy and the EU.
''The independence of Kosovo closes the final chapter of the disintegration of Yugoslavia, which is now a fact that must be accepted despite the legitimate worries and the understandable psychological resistance,'' D'Alema told the Senate.
Italy is a lead player in a new EU mission in Kosovo aimed at maintaining civil law and order in the Serbian province after it declared independence. The mission replaces a similar one which has been run by the UN over the past nine years.
Italian Premier Romano Prodi said on Monday that Italy will do its utmost to make sure Serbia does not feel ''let down'' by the EU after Kosovo declared independence.
''We have a long friendship with Serbia and therefore we have a responsibility to (make sure that) Serbia does not feel abandoned by Europe at this time,'' the caretaker premier told the press.
Prodi added that he had spoken by phone with Serbia's pro-Western President Boris Tadic on Sunday, urging ''wisdom, ability to understand and dialogue at such a difficult time for Serbia''.
Western powers believe Serbia forfeited its rights over Kosovo because of a Serbian offensive against Kosavars, halted by US-led intervention in 1999.
