Doug Muir has a couple of posts on the slow progress that Kosovo is making toward international recognition. So far, 43 states have recognized Kosovo, including eight of the fifteen current UN Security Council members, and three of the five permanent members. Some of the holdouts are predictable -- countries like Russia, China, or Indonesia have potential breakaway regions and don't want to ratify the creation of a new state.
Some others, such as Vietnam, resent the role that the US military played in the creation of Kosovo. The Serbs have apparently been playing the African Union pretty hard in pursuit of non-recognition, while the various Latin American countries can't seem to be bothered to care.
As Doug notes, Kosovo is likely to be recognized by fifty or so countries by the end of the year. Does this really matter? Since Russia and China can block any Security Council resolution recognizing Kosovar independence, the procedural answer is probably "no". However, if Kosovo continues to pick up recognition, Russia or China could come to be seen as playing an obstructionist role. That, however, is probably years away.
--Robert Farley
