Estonia, Italy, and Denmark became Thursday the 13th, 14th, and 15th state to officially recognize the independence of the breakaway Serbian province Kosovo.

Italy is the last of the "big four" from the EU together with the UK, France, and Germany, which announced in advance they would recognize the new nation.

Estonia's and Denmark's statements of recognition both underscore the hope that the Kosovo leadership would do its best to protect minority rights and to help preserve stability in the Balkans.

Meanwhile, Russia's Embassy in Romania sent a letter to the Romanian Parliament congratulating it for its decision not to recognize Kosovo. The Parliament in Bucarest voted Monday a declaration defying the unilaterally declared of independence of the Serbian Province.

The declaration was approved with 357 votes, with only 27 MPs from the Hungarian minority.

Later on Thursday, the Serbian President Boris Tadic, who is on a one-day visit to Romania, declared that Serbia would not recognize Kosovo, but was also not going to give up on its European future.

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