U.S. hails Kosovo ruling, calls for Europe to unite

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday backed a court ruling that Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia was legal and, in a veiled message to Belgrade, said it was "time for Europe to unite behind a common future."

"The ICJ (International Court of Justice) ruling strongly asserts that Kosovo's declaration of independence is legal, a judgment we support. Now it is time for Europe to unite behind a common future," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said in a brief emailed comment.

Serbia lost control over Kosovo in 1999 when NATO bombed it to halt the killing of ethnic Albanians in a two-year counterinsurgency war.

After nine years under an international mandate, the Albanian majority, backed by Washington and most European Union members, declared independence -- which Belgrade pledged never to accept.

The ICJ's opinion is only advisory, but the long wait for a ruling has prevented any serious attempt to find an accommodation between Kosovo and Serbia. This in turn has blocked the EU membership prospects.

EU diplomats are expected to use the legal conclusions to try to create the basis for a practical relationship between the two, without which future European integration will be blocked.

By stressing the importance of Europe uniting behind a common future, the United States appeared to be telling Belgrade that its interests would be best served by finding an accommodation with Kosovo and, ultimately, joining the EU.

"Our consistent message to the region has been that their future lies in (eventual) Euro-Atlantic integration," said a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity. "That is the way forward."

(Reporting by Arshad Mohammed, editing by Vicki Allen)