Kosovo, located on the Balkan Peninsula in southeastern Europe, is an autonomous province of Serbia with a total area of 10,887 square kilometers and a total population of 2 million. Bordering Macedonia to the south and Montenegro and Albania to the west, it is located at the junction of four countries, and its geographical location also dooms this land to be extraordinary.
Kosovo declared independence on February 17, 2008, but was not recognized by Serbia, and 15 years have passed since the declaration of independence, and Kosovo has been recognized by more than 100 countries around the world, but no matter how hard Kosovo, it cannot enter the United Nations, and it has not been recognized by the two world powers, China and Russia. Even though Kosovo participated in the Olympics in 2016 as a historic individual, it still failed to gain a foothold in the world as a nation.
Kosovo declares independence
What is the reason? We also need to understand Kosovo's past and present.
Kosovo is a region with a long history, and according to historical research, it was the place where the ancestors of the Albanians lived. Until now, more than 90% of the population of Kosovo is Albanian, and it is the same ethnic group as neighboring Albania, and it is destined that the two regions are inextricably linked, and Albania and Serbia can be said to have an inextricable hatred.
In the 6th century AD, a large number of Slavs came to live in the Balkans, and many began to reclaim and build cities in Kosovo, after which some Albanians were assimilated by the powerful Slavs, while others were driven into the mountains and hills, and the geographical places were basically occupied by the Slavs. In the 9th century, the Serbs among the Slavs established their own state and expanded their territory from the 13th century. In the early days, Serbia set its capital at Prizren in Kosovo, so Kosovo became Serbia's place of prosperity, which is why Serbia insisted on not allowing Kosovo to become independent.
In 1456, the Kingdom of Serbia was annexed by the Ottoman Empire, which for centuries thereafter it was under Ottoman control. In order to strengthen its rule, the Ottoman Empire vigorously promoted its own Islam in the Balkans and imposed heavy taxes on infidels, causing a large number of Orthodox Serbs to flee Kosovo to live in Orthodox Christian areas. The Albanians took the opportunity to return to Kosovo and settle, and soon the Albanians in Kosovo became the majority ethnic group. This also laid the seeds for the subsequent contradictions between Kosovo and the Serbs.
At the end of the 18th century, the Ottoman Empire gradually declined, and the peoples of the Balkans began to seek independence. At the beginning of the 20th century, after two Balkan wars, Kosovo was again controlled by Serbia and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was established with Serbia as the main body. In order to change the situation of the majority ethnic groups in Kosovo, Serbia has also begun large-scale migration to Kosovo.
In 1912, Albania, a state with Albanian predominance, became independent, and in 1928 it became a sovereign state. However, Kosovo, which is also dominated by Albanians, is under the jurisdiction of Serbs, which has caused strong dissatisfaction among Albanians in the Kosovo region. Since then, Serbia and Kosovo have long been repressed and rebelled, and even during World War II, the struggle between the two peoples did not stop. After independence, Albania also strongly supported the confrontation with Serbia behind Kosovo, and in the long-term struggle, the Kosovars became the poorest region in Serbia, and their economic development lagged far behind the rest of Serbia.
Albanian Independence Day
In 1992, when Yugoslavia disintegrated and Kosovo saw the hope of independence and tried to become independent through violent means, the conflict caused hundreds of thousands of casualties.
With the changes in the world situation, Kosovo has gradually become a new battlefield in the game of great powers. The United States and Europe have been trying to get Serbia to recognize Kosovo's independence, but Serbia did not give in, affecting the strategic layout of the United States in the Balkan Peninsula, so in 1999, the United States led NATO to launch the Kosovo War under the banner of humanitarianism, and bombed the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia for 78 days. Due to the disparity in strength, Seville had no choice but to hand over Kosovo to the United Nations trusteeship.
The Kosovo War broke out in 1999
NATO bombed the FRY in 1999
In 2008, Kosovo unilaterally declared independence, and the United States and other more than 100 countries recognized it one after another, but because China and Russia have never recognized Kosovo's independence, Kosovo cannot enter the United Nations. China and Russia are both one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, and whether Kosovo can enter the UN is very important.
So why don't China and Russia recognize Kosovo's independent statehood?
Russia and the United States can be said to be natural rivals, and Serbia and Russia are both Slavs, and Russia will inevitably oppose Kosovo's independence. Under the tutelage of the United States, Kosovo's relations with Russia are not good, so Russia has no reason to support Kosovo.
For China, the US bombing of the Chinese embassy in the Kosovo War is unforgivable. In addition, legally China cannot support Kosovo's independence, and if any region can become independent without the consent of the host country, the world will inevitably become chaotic at the instigation of some countries. Therefore, in the future, as long as China and Russia do not nod, it is almost impossible for Kosovo to enter the United Nations.