Kosovars wave the flag of independence in Pristina. (AFP)

Pristina, Kosovo, Feb. 17 (AP): Kosovo declared itself a nation today, mounting a brash and historic bid to become an “independent and democratic state” backed by the US and key European allies but bitterly contested by Serbia and Russia.

“Kosovo is a republic — an independent, democratic and sovereign state,” parliament Speaker Jakup Krasniqi said as the chamber burst into applause after a unanimous vote to approve the document.

Across the capital, Pristina, revellers danced in the streets, fired guns into the air, waved red and black Albanian flags and honked car horns in jubilation at the birth of the world’s newest country.

Kosovo’s 10 minority Serb lawmakers boycotted the session, and Serbian President Boris Tadic immediately rejected the independence bid as “unilateral and illegal”. Russia demanded an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.

Krasniqi, Prime Minister Hashim Thaci and President Fatmir Sejdiu signed the declaration, which was scripted on parchment, before the unveiling of a new national crest and a flag: a bright blue banner featuring a golden map of Kosovo and six stars, one for each of its main ethnic groups.

Sunday’s declaration was carefully orchestrated with the US and European powers, and Kosovo was counting on swift international recognition that could come as early as Monday, when EU foreign ministers meet in Brussels, Belgium.

By sidestepping the UN and appealing directly to the US and other nations for recognition, Kosovo’s independence set up a showdown with Serbia — outraged at the imminent loss of its territory — and Russia, which warned that it would set a dangerous precedent for separatist groups worldwide.

Russia’s foreign ministry said Moscow supported Serbia’s “just demands to restore the country’s territorial integrity.”

“From today onwards, Kosovo is proud, independent and free,” said Thaci, a former leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army, which battled Serbian troops in a 1998-99 separatist war that claimed 10,000 lives. “We never lost faith in the dream that one day we would stand among the free nations of the world, and today we do.”