国际英语新闻：Serbia recalls ambassador to US

BELGRADE - Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said Monday that Serbia has recalled its ambassador to the United States.

Kostunica said at a special parliament session that the Serbian government has instructed the Serbian ambassador to the United States Ivan Vujacic to return immediately, as a protest against the US decision to recognize Kosovo's independence.
This is the first measure applied to countries that recognize Kosovo's independence, he said.

Serbian President Boris Tadic on Monday called on all member states of the United Nations not to recognize the independence of Kosovo, the official Tanjug news agency reported.

He urged them to continue to respect Serbia's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to stick to international law, the UN Charter, UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and other international legal acts.

Moreover, Serbian Interior Ministry filed criminal charges against Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, President Fatmir Sejdiu and Parliament Speaker Jakup Krasniqi, accusing them of forming a false state on Serbia's territory, Tanjug reported.

"With this action, they committed a grave crime against the Constitutional order and security of Serbia," the ministry said in a statement.

The Serbian Supreme Court dismissed Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence as a null, void and illegal act.

A statement issued by the Supreme Court said the declaration, from the aspect of the Serbian Constitution, is an illegal act with null and void effect.

Meanwhile, Serbian Minister of Trade Predrag Bubalo said Serbia would not impose an immediate economic embargo on Kosovo when it has yet to be recognized by other countries.

"We have to care for the people who recognize the state of Serbia, who are loyal to the state of Serbia and who only have the state of Serbia," he said, referring to the Serbs living in the enclaves in Kosovo.

Kosovo's parliament on Sunday voted to adopt a declaration of the province's independence from Serbia.

Kosovo was a southern autonomous province within Serbia before the breakup of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The Albanian-dominated region was plunged into ethnic conflicts in the 1990s.

Kosovo had been under UN administration since mid-1999, after NATO air strikes drove Serbian forces out of the province.