WASHINGTON, Feb 18: The United States on Monday formally recognised Kosovo’s independence, insisting the breakaway Serbian province was a “special case” despite angry objections by Russia, China and other powers.

But Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also vied to reach out to Serbia, where Kosovo’s declaration of independence was met with rioting on Sunday that targeted two McDonald’s restaurants and the US embassy in Belgrade.

“The United States has today formally recognised Kosovo as a sovereign and independent state. We congratulate the people of Kosovo on this historic occasion,” Rice said in a statement.

President George Bush had “responded affirmatively” to Kosovo’s request for diplomatic relations with the United States, added Rice, who is visiting Kenya.

“As Kosovo today begins its life as an independent state, the United States pledges to continue to be its close friend and partner,” she said, reaffirming also “our friendship with Serbia, an ally during two world wars.” Nicholas Burns, the State Department’s number three, said that Rice had telephoned Serbian President Boris Tadic on Sunday to stress the two nations’ “strong relationship” despite the frictions over Kosovo.

Rice said the United States will now work with the international community to implement a “supervised independence” plan for Kosovo put forward by the former Finnish president and UN special envoy Martti Ahtisaari.

“In light of the conflicts of the 1990s, independence is the only viable option to promote stability in the region,” her statement said.

Rice said that Kosovo was a “special case,” citing Yugoslavia’s breakup, “the history of ethnic cleansing and crimes against civilians in Kosovo,” and its extended period of UN administration.

“Kosovo cannot be seen as a precedent for any other situation in the world today.” But the United States was still on a collision course with Russia and China, both permanent members of the UN Security Council who fear that recognition of Kosovo sets an alluring example for other independence-minded territories.

The four most powerful European Union states — Britain, France, Germany and Italy — backed Kosovo’s independence. But a clutch of other EU members including Spain, fretting over their own territorial integrity, were opposed.

Speaking earlier on Monday while on a visit to Tanzania, Bush said the people of Kosovo “are now independent.” “It’s something I’ve advocated along with my government,” Bush said in an interview with NBC News. “The Ahtisaari plan is our blueprint forward.”

The White House said that Bush was due to deliver further remarks on Kosovo’s independence early Tuesday in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Under UN administration since 1999 after a brutal war which saw massacres of Kosovo’s dominant ethnic Albanians by Serbian troops, Kosovo unilaterally declared its independence from Serbia on Sunday.

The declaration was to be followed by a 120-day transition period, marked by the deployment of a 2,000-strong European Union police and judicial team intended to smooth the transition and ensure democracy.

A Nato-led force now numbering 17,000 troops from 34 nations has been on the ground in Kosovo since 1999, when the United States and its allies intervened militarily to drive Serbian troops out of the province.

Rice said the United States welcomed the Kosovo government’s commitment to “multi-ethnicity as a fundamental principle of good governance, and to welcome a period of international supervision.”

She added: “We invite Serbia’s leaders to work together with the United States and our partners to accomplish shared goals, such as the protection of the rights, security, culture and livelihood of the Serb community in Kosovo.”—AFP