I.

Introduction

Kosovo (Albanian, Kosova), republic on the Balkan Peninsula in south-eastern Europe, bordered on the north and east by Serbia, on the south-east by the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), on the south-west by Albania, and on the west by Montenegro. Formerly part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and latterly an autonomous region within Serbia, it was run under a United Nations administration (UNMIK) from 1999 before declaring its independence from Serbia on February 17, 2008. The area of Kosovo is approximately 10,887 sq km(4,203 sq mi). The capital and largest city is Prishtinë (Serbian, Priština).