By declaring its independence, Kosovo was following through on a formality that Serbia hoped would never take place. Serbia hasn’t had any real control in the region since 1999, but, on paper, Kosovo still was a part of the country.

Now that paperwork has changed and the people of Kosovo live in an independent nation.

But Serbia is not happy, and neither is its ally, Russia. They are worried Kosovo’s independence might give ideas to other subordinated provinces.

That might not be so bad. When state boundaries in many parts of the world were formed, the lines were drawn based on geography instead of following ethnic and cultural divides.

But those lines don’t mean very much if political and ethnic divides are not taken into consideration. People are always going to work with others who share similar backgrounds and beliefs.

On Sunday, Russia called a “closed-door” emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council. They tried to block Kosovo’s independence claiming concern for the safety of Serbs in the region.

Despite Russia’s noble explanation for the meeting, we are perplexed with the country’s motives for calling the meeting.

The Security Council’s permanent members are China, France, Russia, the U.K. and the U.S. Since France and Britain already acknowledged Kosovo’s independence, it is no surprise the meeting produced no results.

On Monday, the U.S. officially joined France and Britain by recognizing the break from Serbia.

But Spain’s government has joined the ranks of Serbia and Russia, saying it will not support Kosovo’s “unilateral act” of independence.

In April 2007, Kosovo made its first attempt at negotiating independence, but that plan failed. Now there is no logical reason to hold the Kosovars back.

With such a concentrated population of Albanians in the region, it seems natural that they became an independent nation. After all, they have been virtually independent since 1999. Serbia and its older brother Russia should just finish the paperwork.

The bottom line is that Serbia doesn’t want to look weak.

However, if its leaders keep pounding their fists and complaining about Kosovo’s independent streak, they might just come off looking more like a bully than a powerful state.