Chronology of key Kosovo events in 2008

January

- Deep division in the EU and in the UNSC on the issue of Kosovo's possible secession

- Russia warns of a Kosovo precedent for South Ossetia and Abkhazia

- Presidential elections in Serbia

February

- EU foreign ministers agree on Joint Action to send the Eulex mission

- The ethnic Albanian leadership in Pristina proclaims unilateral secession of Kosovo from Serbia

- Serbia annuls the decision of the ethnic Albanians

- Serbs protest worlwide, riots in Belgrade leave one dead, dozens injured. Clashes also in Republika Srpska.

- Kosovo Serbs protest, burn customs posts between Kosovo and central Serbia, quit Kosovo police. Over 20 injured in clashes.

- Condemnation of the move in non-Western countries worldwide, as well as from various political parties and intellectuals in Western countries.

- US leads recognition wave, coalition of "friends of independent Kosovo" form International Steering Group

- Kosovo's secession inspires "independence daze" as separatist movements worldwide call it a clear precedent.

March

- Belgrade rejects a EU mission without UN backing

- Serbian government falls over disagreement on future EU policy related to Kosovo

- Riots in Kosovska Mitrovica leave one Ukrainian policeman dead and 150 people injured.

April

- Former ICTY prosecutor Carla del Ponte reveals in her book details of hidden 1999 case of Serb prisoners, victims of trade organs trade in Albania

- India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Brazil, Argentina and other regional powers worlwide underline strong opposition to Kosovo's secession

May  

- Macedonian government falls after Albanian coalition partner quits

- NATO announces plans to train "Kosovo Security Force", harsh opposition from Serbia, Russia

June

- Elections in Serbia, including local elections in Kosovo.

- Formation of a Kosovo Serb assembly

- Kosovo constitution, based on the Ahtisaari plan, enters in force

July

- New Serbian government vows to pursue same Kosovo policy

- Donors Conference in Brussels: 1,2 billion pledged for Kosovo

- Recognition of Kosovo slows down dramatically. US President George W. Bush urges the world to continue recognizing Kosovo.

August

- A supporter of a Kosovo compromise, Russia's writer and Nobel prize laureate Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, passes away

- Georgian invasion of South Ossetia leads to Russian intervention

- South Ossetia and Abkhazia seek independence based on the Kosovo precedent

- Moscow recognizes their independence

September

- Serbia's diplomatic initiative under way to secure enough votes on its ICJ initiative. The US, France and the UK show dissatisfaction.

October

- The UN General Assembly votes in favor of sending Serbia's initiative to determine the legality of Kosovo's secession to the International Court of Justice. Only the US, Albania and four microstates in the Pacific oppose the initiative.

- Macedonia and Montengro recognize Kosovo under pressure, a day following the UN General Assembly decision. Serbia expells their ambassadors.

- 34 injured in protests and clashes in Montenegro over Kosovo recognition

- Talks intensify between Belgrade and the UN (Six-point plan), as well as between Belgrade and the EU on the reconfiguration of the Unmik mission which would allow for a deployment of Eulex.

- Five Serbs injured in clash with Albanians in Kosovska Mitrovica

-  FIFA, UEFA, FIBA and other sports organizations reject Kosovo membership  

November

- The UN Security Council backs unanimously a presidential statement which puts Eulex under the UN umbrella and supports the Six-point plan agreed between Belgrade and New York.

- Pristina rejects the UN Six-point plan.

- Explosive device goes off in front of the EU office in Pristina: three members of the German intelligence service BND are arrested in the affair, then released following a row between Berlin and Kosovo Albanian authorities.

December

- Eulex begins its mandate under the UN umbrella

- Martti Ahtisaari is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize

- Kosovo Albanians name a central street in Pristina after George W. Bush

- Two proponents of a Kosovo compromise - Russia's Patriarch Alexey II and world's leading playwright and Nobel prize winner Harold Pinter - pass away.

- Serbian police arrests 10 former Albanian KLA members for 1999 war crimes

- Tensions in Kosovska Mitrovica following a stabbing of a 16-year old Serb boy

- By the end of 2009, 53 our 192 members of the UN have recognized Kosovo's secession.

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