Word: slovakia
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...Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia joined NATO as a guarantee against encroachment by Moscow, which had dominated them from 1945 until the end of the Cold War. Back at the close of the Cold War in the early 1990s, NATO had promised Moscow that once Soviet troops withdrew from Eastern Europe, NATO would not expand beyond West Germany. Russians decry the West's broken word, and question the purpose of NATO's encircling them from the west and south. Ukraine's prospective NATO membership is particularly painful to Russia in terms of security and emotions: Ukraine...
Second, the 27-country E.U., which is bitterly divided over Kosovo, lacks an overarching defense or security vision. After Kosovo declared independence, Britain, France and other countries offered recognition, while Spain, Romania, Greece, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Slovakia refused to do so. Keeping peace in Kosovo will require European nations to put their citizens at risk. Unfortunately, the stated desire of many European countries to reduce their commitments to the nato effort in Afghanistan does little to bolster confidence in Europe's eagerness to maintain international security...
...Serbs opposing Kosovo's independence will certainly take heart from the fact that Russia, China and a number of European Union members, including Cyprus, Spain, Romania and Slovakia, have refused to recognize the new state. Russia and China can block Kosovo's access to the United Nations and other multilateral organizations, and the refusal of some EU member states to recognize the country could complicate decision-making over the future EU mission in the territory. Opponents of independence fear that the move will set a dangerous precedent for separatists elsewhere, and Russia has been particularly vigorous in its opposition...
...Kosovo," Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos promptly told reporters. "This does not respect international law." Similar opposition has been voiced from a list of smaller European countries that face internal independence movements of their own, or are longstanding allies of Serbia - or both: Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria and Slovakia have rejected Kosovo's independence. It's not hard to find motivation for their stance: The Republic of Cyprus, for example, fears that Kosovo independence will give weight to Turkish Cypriot claims for dividing up the island into two separate nation states. The Foreign Minister of Slovakia, which fears unrest...
...diplomatic relations with any of them, according to diplomatic sources in Belgrade. The United States recognized the new state on Monday. The European Union is divided. France, Britain, Germany and Italy have all recognized Kosovo. But a number of countries may not, including Spain, Romania, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus and Slovakia...