Why we should not recognise Kosovo

THE reaction of our newspapers to the declaration of independence by Kosovo has been almost uniformly positive. The attitude seems to be that as a small nation, we should welcome the emergence of this new ‘state’.

Common to almost all the coverage is a cursory analysis of the motives of those countries that have chosen not to recognise this unilateral declaration.

So the Cypriots are concerned about the Turkish north of the island, the Spanish are worried about the Basques and the Catalans, and so forth.