(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-02-23 09:47

MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday the recognition of Kosovo's unilateral independence by several major world powers set "a terrible precedent."

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"The independence of Kosovo is a terrible precedent," Putin said at an informal summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States in Moscow.

"In fact, it breaks up the entire system of international relations, a system that has taken not even decades but centuries to evolve," he said.

The Russian leader believed the recognition of Kosovo's independence would bring unpredictable consequences.

Supporters of Kosovo's independence "cannot foresee the results of what they are doing," Putin added.

Kosovo, a breakaway Serbian province, has been under UN administration since 1999.

Ethnic Albanian-dominated Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia on February 17, triggering mixed responses from the international community.

Serbia has said the proclamation is null and void, but the United States, Britain and some other European countries have recognized Kosovo's independence claim.