Chavez will not recognize Kosovo

Caracas Daily Journal (Vincent Bevins): President Hugo Chavez weighed in on Kosovo's controversial claim to independence this week. He refuses unequivocally to accept it.
"We do not recognize the indepence of Kosovo," he said. "We protest against it, I don' know how there are countries that accept it."
The independence of Kosovo has been bitterly rejected by most Serbians, who consider Kosovo the cradle of their history, culture, and civilization. In 1989, Yugoslavia was a united and relatively stable Communist republic. Since then, it has splintered into increasingly small pieces, a process often accompanied by violence.
"We are in the same position as Russia and China and we co-incide with the government of Spain," said Chavez. "It is worrisome that the UN is lending itself to this game played by the United States.
Violence has erupted on the newly-formed Kosovo-Serbia border by Serbs who refuse to accept the decision. In his speech, Chávez attributed his decision to Serbia's rightful claim to the region as well as the risk of violence the secession might engender.
He called for Kosovo's independence not to be recognized, and that "all mechanisms of political dialogue are sought out, in the UN, in the EU, and that they take a step back."
The international community is still split on the decision and Serbia's plan of action remains unclear. It is a country which has shown willingness to resort to violence in the past.