Cheering and waving flags, thousands of ethnic Albanians lined the streets of Kosovo's capital on Thursday to welcome U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and applaud U.S. support for their new country's statehood, according to AP. Biden's visit was the first by a senior American official since Kosovo declared independence last year from Serbia _ a change Serbia has vowed never to accept. The capital of Pristina was decorated with flags, large posters and banners thanking Biden and U.S for their role in Kosovo. Many people waved Kosovo and U.S. flags. Ethnic Albanians are staunch supporters of the U.S. because it led the 1999 NATO bombing of Serbia that stopped the war in Kosovo. Biden was greeted at the airport by Kosovo's newly formed security force, and later by President Fatmir Sejdiu and Prime Minister Hashim Thaci. He was to address Kosovo's parliament later and will be awarded the Gold Medal of Freedom and a copy of Kosovo's Independence Declaration.
