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And in a speech to the United Nations Security Council, Serbian President Boris Tadic warned that backing Kosovo set a dangerous precedent that would threaten the world order.

But Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said he was confident there would soon be international approval. There was another explosion, meanwhile, in the ethnically divided Kosovar town of Mitrovica.

"As Kosovo today begins its life as an independent state, the United States pledges to continue to be its close friend and partner," said the US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

She also reaffirmed "our friendship with Serbia, an ally during two world wars".

US, British, French and Turkish diplomats exchanged letters with Kosovo's leaders in Pristina to establish formal diplomatic ties.

Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica withdrew Serbia's ambassador from the United States.

It was, he told parliament, just the first such "urgent measure" that would will be implemented in all countries that recognised Kosovo's unilateral independence.

Serbia has recalled its ambassadors from all countries that recognise Kosovo's independence, Beta news agency reported.

Belgrade, which insists the mainly ethnic Albanian territory is part of Serbia, vowed to block Kosovo from membership of the United Nations and other international organisations to which it belonged.

It also launched criminal action against Kosovo's leaders for making Sunday's declaration of independence.

Other countries, including China, Romania, Russia and Spain, also said they opposed Kosovo's independence.

Their fears were to some extent reflected in Tadic's address to the 15-member UN Security Council on Monday.

"This arbitrary decision represents a precedent, which will cause irreparable damage to the international order," he warned.

"There are dozens of various Kosovos in the world and all of them lie in wait for Kosovo act of secession to become a reality and to be established as an acceptable norm," he added.

Spain, which has long struggled with violence by militant Basque separatists, condemned the move, even as nationalist parties in its Basque and Catalan regions issued statements hailing the news.

Romania, which has a significant Hungarian minority, also condemned the move, as did Cyprus, which is divided between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot populations.

China expressed "grave concern" over Kosovo's declaration, which triggered new tensions between the Chinese and Taiwanese governments.

Long-time rival Taiwan warmly welcomed the independence declaration.

"In no way should the independence of one nation be denied by another," said the foreign ministry in Taiwan, which has also struggled to gain international recognition. China claims Taiwan is a renegade province that should be reunited with the mainland.

Photo: EPA

Vocabulary

to recognise, v: to officially accept

independence, n: state of not being part of or dependent on another country or government

precedent, n: something that happens for the first time and is then cited for equal acceptance of future similar occurrences

confident, adj: being reasonably sure about something, or that something will happen

ethnically divided, adj: being separated into groups of people according to where they originate from

withdraw, v: to leave a place; to call back a representative

urgent, adj: needing to be done without delay; important

arbitrary, adj: unreasonable; unsupported; made by only one group, not agreed on

irreparable, adj: unable to be changed back into the original state; unable to be fixed or mended

secession, n: one part of a country deciding to become independent, without that country's agreement to such a move

Questions

1. Which country was Kosovo part of before its independence?

a. Serbia

b. Turkey

c. Albania

d. Hungary

2. What is the problem with Kosovo's declaration of independence?

a. The United Nations does not approve of it.

b. It was not approved by the mother country.

c. Kosovo has no representation in foreign countries.

d. America denied permission to become independent.

3. Why do countries like Spain oppose Kosovo's independence?

a. It is against the constitution of the European Union.

b. Many of their people might emigrate to the new country.

c. This was the first time in history anything like this has happened.

d. They are worried minorities in their own country will follow their example.

4. Which of the following countries supports Kosovo's independence?

a. China

b. Russia

c. Taiwan

d. Romania

5. What does Belgrade do to discourage countries from recognising Kosovo's independence?

a. It declares war on them.

b. It increases prices for raw petroleum.

c. It will pursue legal action against them.

d. It threatens to withdraw its ambassadors.

Synonyms

Which of the following words or phrases replace the ones from the passage best?

1. back

a. topple

b. support

c. overthrow

d. double-cross

2. pledge

a. review

b. promise

c. threaten

d. negotiate

3. ally

a. friend

b. traitor

c. victim

d. opponent

4. unilateral

a. forced

b. rejected

c. one-sided

d. unexpected

5. condemn

a. initiate

b. criticise

c. support

d. welcome

KEY

Questions                  1. a, 2. b, 3. d, 4. c, 5. d

Synonyms                  1. b, 2. b, 3. a, 4. c, 5. b

By Ajarn Horst Baelz