Republic of Kosovo

The Republic of Kosovo /ˈkɒsəvə, -oʊ/ (Albanian: Republika e Kosovës; Serbian: Република Косово, Republika Kosovo) is a partially recognised state in Southeastern Europe. Its largest city and capital is Pristina. Kosovo is landlocked and is bordered by the Republic of Macedonia to the south, Albania to the west and Montenegro to the northwest. The remaining line of demarcation is the subject of controversy — seen by proponents of Kosovan independence as the Kosovo-Serbia border and seen by opponents of the independence as the boundary between Central Serbia and an autonomous Kosovo within Serbia. Kosovo institutions have control over most of the territory of Kosovo, while North Kosovo, the largest Serb-majority enclave, is largely outside their control and is run by local Serbian institutions with funds and support from Belgrade.

Following an insurgency by Albanians from 1997-1999, after a failure to produce results from non-violent resistance to Serbian rule from 1990, NATO launched a 78-day assault on FR Yugoslavia to halt the war in Kosovo. In 1999 the United Nations through UNMIK began overseeing the administration of the province after a UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution. On 17 February 2008 Kosovo's Parliament declared independence, as the "Republic of Kosovo", which has received recognition from some nation states. Serbia does not recognise the unilateral secession of Kosovo and considers it a UN-governed province within its sovereign territory, a position supported by a number of other countries.

The Republic of Kosovo has been recognised by by 100 UN member states and is a member of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, International Road and Transport Union (IRU), Regional Cooperation Council and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.