(BRUSSELS) - Spain will not recognise the independence of Kosovo, Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said Monday after the former Serbian province broke away over the weekend.

"Spain is not going to recognise this unilateral declaration of independence proclaimed yesterday ... because it does not consider that this respects international law," he said, ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

"The Spanish government has always defended the respect of international law," he said.

The ministers, meeting in Brussels were trying to draw up a declaration on Kosovo's split from Serbia on Sunday, balancing the need to ensure stability in the Balkans with the desire of many EU states to recognise independence.

Moratinos said that Spain would propose to its EU counterparts a text that would "maintain the position of Spain while guaranteeing as much as possible the unity of the European Union".

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