The Serbian parliament overwhelmingly adopted a resolution Wednesday evening that obliges Serbian officials to reject Kosovo's independence and denounces NATO for supporting the separatist Kosovo Albanians.

The resolution, passed with 220 votes in favor and 14 against in the 250-seat parliament, says Serbia must "reconsider" diplomatic ties with Western countries that recognize Kosovo's statehood.

It says that because of NATO's support for Kosovo's independence, Serbia must remain outside the Western military alliance.

The resolution also rejects the idea of the EU setting up a mission in Kosovo until the breakaway province's status is resolved.

The European Union (EU) agreed this month to send a 1,800-member mission to Kosovo to replace the UN mission in the province, where ethnic Albanians, accounting for about 90 percent of Kosovo's 2 million people, have said they would proclaim independence before May early next year.

The United States and major EU nations have said they would recognize Kosovo's independence because it has not been under Serbia's control since 1999, when NATO bombing forced the withdrawal of Serbian forces fighting against Kosovo Albanian separatists.

Serbia insists Kosovo -- considered the cradle of Serbia's medieval state and religion -- should remain part of its territory, and has urged more negotiations with Kosovo Albanians.

(Xinhua News Agency December 27, 2007)