Kosovo

Kosovo ( Albanian: Kosovo ) is a country in Southeastern Europe that declared its independence from Serbia in February 2008 as the Republic of Kosovo. While Serbia recognises governance of the territory by Kosovo institutions, it still continues to claim it as its own Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija, even now that it is a country. It has a population of 97% Albanians and 3% Serbs and others minority ( romans, etc ). Kosovo is landlocked in the central Balkan Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Prishtina. It is bordered by the Republic of Macedonia and Albania to the south, Montenegro to the west, and the uncontested territory of Serbia to the north and east. In antiquity, the Dardanian Kingdom, and later the Roman province of Dardania was located in the region, they were identified as albanians with the geg dialect. After being part of the Ottoman Empire from the 15th to the early 20th century, in the late 19th century Kosovo became the centre of the Albanian independence movement with the League of Prizren. Pulations left Kosovo ethnically divided, resulting in inter-ethnic violence, including the Kosovo War of 1998–99.The war ended with a military intervention of NATO, which forced the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to withdraw its troops from Kosovo, which became a UN protectorate under UNSCR 1244. On 17 February 2008 Kosovo's Parliament declared independence. It has since gained diplomatic recognition as a sovereign state by 111 UN member states. Serbia refuses to recognise Kosovo as a state, although with the Brussels Agreement of 2013 it has accepted the legitimacy of Kosovo institutions. The agreement solidified that public institutions in Kosovo are exclusively operated by Kosovo's elected government, and not Serbia's, and this means that Kosovo is a fully operative country.