United States Secretary of State Robert Gates made clear to the government of newly independent Kosovo, on Monday, that U.S. forces would stay in the country for at least one year more. Gates’ remarks will not go over well with Russia, which opposed Kosovo’s declaration of independence, and believes that Kosovo should continue to be a part of Serbia, a staunch ally of Russia.

At this moment, fewer than 50 countries have recognized Kosovo’s independence. That is significantly less than Kosovo hoped for when it announced its independence earlier this year, but significantly more than countries that have recognize South Ossetia’s and Abkhazia’s independence - only Russia and Nicaragua have recognized the independence of these two Georgian breakaway regions.

Later Tuesday, while standing with the president and prime minister of Kosovo, Gates said that in meetings with the leaders he reaffirmed the pledge that President Bush made—that “we came in together and we will go out together.”

He said they talked about maintaining the current troop levels, and said the U.S. is focused on providing services, equipment and training for the new ministry and the Kosovo security forces. Gates added that there also is funding in the Pentagon’s 2009 budget for military education and training programs for Kosovo, although he was not sure what specifically would be provided for Kosovo.

He added that the U.S. looks “forward to the day when peace is self-sustaining.”

Gates’ visit marked the first time a U.S. Cabinet member has been to Kosovo since the country declared its independence in February. And it underscored the escalating tensions between NATO allies and Moscow as Eastern European nations increasingly look to the West.

There are currently 1,600 U.S. troops in Kosovo. The last time a high ranking U.S. official visited the country was back in June 2001, a few months before the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, which radically changed U.S. foreign policy.

Back then the main goal of the U.S. forces was to prevent Kosovars from smuggling weapons into neighboring Macedonia.

This time, the job of the U.S. is different. It has to prevent Serbia from taking Kosovo back by force, and it has to protect Serbians from Kosovars and vice versa.

It is yet another minor battle between old and new enemies Russia and the United States. Both have their own interests to protect in the region, both support other sides.