Rice sees Kosovo gaining wider recognition

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Friday international recognition of Kosovo would increase and the independence of the former Serbian province was a fact that opponents must accept.

Kosovo broke away from Serbia in February in defiance of Serbia and ally Russia. But Rice noted that it has been recognized by more than 40 governments, including the United States, the majority of European Union and NATO members, and some Asian and Middle Eastern countries.

"I know that there will be more," she told reporters in Washington after hosting talks with Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu and Prime Minister Hashim Thaci.

Rice pledged U.S. assistance to Kosovo and urged it to assure its future by building a multiethnic democracy, protecting minority and religious rights and delivering economic development.

Progress by Kosovo on those fronts would led to a situation in which "those who did not wish to see an independent Kosovo will understand ... that there is an independent Kosovo and it is going to continue to be," she said.

Sejdiu said he hoped that by leading his new country's first delegation to Washington, "Kosovo will become part of the family -- the NATO family and the EU, and will have excellent relations with the United States, always."

On Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund said it recognized Kosovo's secession from Serbia and will consider its membership application "in due course" as a sovereign Balkan state.

For decades the poorest part of Yugoslavia, Kosovo is still weighed down by destruction from the 1998-99 war -- when NATO waged a bombing campaign to drive out Serb forces engaged in ethnic cleansing -- and a legacy of waste and corruption under international stewardship.

(Reporting by Paul Eckert; Editing by Vicki Allen)