The Kosovo province officially proclaimed its independence on Sunday evening. Kosovo Prime Minister Khashim Thaci read the declaration of independence in front of the Pristina Parliament, while the Government voted in favor of the Declaration, international press agencies inform. The Parliament also approved the official flag and the official coat of arms of the new state, but not the national anthem.

Prime Minister Thaci declared, in his speech in front of the Parliament, that the new state will guarantee the rights of all its citizens, regardless their ethnicity.

Meanwhile, in Belgrade, Serbian president Boris Tadici once again asserted that Serbia will not recognize the new state and that it will try, through peaceful and diplomatic means, to obtain an annulment of the Kosovo independence declaration. "We will continue to respect the Constitution and will not accept a fake state", Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica added.

Serbian minister for Kosovo, Slobodan Samardzic, declared for AFP that the Serbian institutions in Kosovo will continue to function, in order to ensure a "normal life" for the Serb ethnics.

Immediately after the independence of the province was proclaimed, Russia - which strongly opposed the formation of a Kosovo state - announced that it denounces the independence and demanded emergency summoning of the UN Security Council. According to AFP, the Security Council will meet on Sunday night at 18:00h GMT.

The independence of Kosovo split the international community in two sides: the great powers like the US, France, or UK support the province independence, while Russia and Serbia strongly oppose it. A total of 20 EU countries will recognize the new state. Romania counts among the states that opposed the formation of the new state. The Kosovo province officially proclaimed its independence on