U.S. President George W. Bush on Tuesday justified recognizing Kosovo as an independent nation, saying that doing so will bring peace to a region scarred by war. "History will prove this to be a correct move to bring peace to the Balkans," he told reporters in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.The recognition "presents an opportunity to move beyond the conflicts of the past and toward a future of freedom and stability and peace," he said.
However, Serbs set off sporadic explosions and torched a checkpoint between Serbia and Kosovo on Tuesday to protest Kosovo's declaration of independence and international recognition of the new nation.
The border crossing in northern Kosovo, staffed by U.N. and Kosovo's multiethnic police and customs service, was set ablaze by Kosovo Serbs who want it removed as a symbol of their desire to rejoin Serbia.
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