Turkey formally recognized independent Kosovo, Foreign Minister Ali Babacan disclosed Monday.

Kosovo declared its independence on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Turkish TV stations reported protestors in Belgrade threw stones at embassies including the Turkish mission.

Turkey gave signals of its decision earlier in the day when Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke with Kosovo's Prime Minister Hashim Thaci on the phone saying he hoped independence of Kosovo would yield positive results, and said Turkey attached importance to peace and stability in the Balkans.

Turkey is closely following the developments in the region, Erdogan said and stated that Turkey contributed to development of peace and stability in the Balkans.

Erdogan told the Kosovar leader that he believes that unity of all elements which constitute Kosovo (including Turks and Albanians) would strengthen the future of the country. 90 percent of Kosovo's 2 million people are ethnic Albanian --most of them Muslims.

Meanwhile, Turkish experts said Kosovo's declaration of independence was an important development both for the Balkans and the world but its sovereignty would remain limited.
"You may declare your country independent but that would only remain on paper unless you get recognition," said Erhan Turbedar, an analyst from the Center for Eurasian Strategic Studies (ASAM).

Turbedar expected no positive outcome from a European Union meeting Monday over the recognition of Kosovo's independence citing the opposition of at least five EU members, including Greek Cypriot administration, Greece and Spain.

"Turkey would eventually recognize Kosovo's independence but it would not be among the first group of countries to do that," he said.
"We saw Kosovo's people waving Albanian, U.S., EU and Turkish flags during Sunday's celebrations and Kosovo definitely has an expectation from Turkey for recognition."
Mirzet Mijezinovic, another ASAM analyst on the Balkans, said Kosovo would not enjoy a full-fledged independent status.

"Pretty much the same with what we see in Bosnia-Herzegovina's situation that an international supervising body would see to the Kosovo's state institutions," Mijezinovic said.

Mijezinovic the idea that Kosovo's situation would constitute a model for current problematic areas such as Cyprus. "Kosovo is not an international problem. It is a remnant of the former Yugoslavia," he said.

"Turkey should recognize Kosovo's independence but when doing that it must underline that the case should not considered as a model for other issues such as Cyprus," Mijezinovic said.