Servië wijst verband tussen Kosovo en EU-lidmaatschap af (en)
The Serbian parliament on Wednesday (26 December) adopted a resolution condemning an independent Kosovo and saying Belgrade would "reconsider" its diplomatic ties with Western countries that recognise it.
Officially a province of Serbia, Kosovo has been under UN administration since 1999 and is expected to declare independence in early 2008.
The resolution "on [the] protection of sovereignty, territorial integrity and constitutional order of Serbia" was adopted after long debates by Serbian parliamentarians with 220 votes in favour and 14 against, while three deputies abstained.
It stresses the fact that Kosovo is an integral part of Serbia and underlines that Serbia will "reconsider" its diplomatic and other relations with any countries recognising an independent Kosovo, according to Bulgarian news agency BGNES.
"Any treaty Serbia signs, including the Stabilisation and Association Agreement [with the EU], must be in keeping with preservation of [Serbian] sovereignty and territorial integrity", says the document.
Serbia initialled the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) - seen as the first step to EU membership in November. And some EU states insist the document should be signed as early as January 2008, regardless of the developments in Kosovo.
Meanwhile, both Serbian president Boris Tadic and prime minister Vojislav Kostunica have categorically refused what is sometimes seen as a trade-off between the country's European integration and Kosovo's status.
In his address to the parliament preceding the adoption of the resolution on Wednesday, Mr Kostunica reiterated that "Serbia rejects any kind of [Kosovo] independence and this is Serbia's first and final statement".
"Serbia will never accept the independence of Kosovo", Mr Tadic added.
The prime minister was particularly critical towards the US, accusing it of defending Albanian interests and violating international law.
"The US is conscientiously sacrificing Serbia's state and national interests as well as life interests of Kosovo Albanians just to make a quasi-state in which NATO would be the final authority body in an independent Kosovo", he told parliamentarians.
The resolution also rejects the idea of sending an EU mission to Kosovo before the province's status is resolved.
Earlier this month, EU leaders agreed to send a 1,800-strong police and civilian mission to Kosovo in order to increase the bloc's role in solving the issue of the province's status.
But Serbia immediately rejected the mission as "unacceptable" and "illegitimate", seeing it as ultimately leading to the recognition of an independent Kosovo.
It is still unclear when the mission will be deployed, although speculation has so far focussed on the first half of 2008.
At a regional meeting on Saturday (22 December), the foreign ministers of Bulgaria, Romania and Greece called for the EU mission to be deployed as soon as possible.