Serbian president starts official visit to Romania

BUCHAREST, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Serbian President Boris Tadic on Thursday started an official visit to Romania, a neighboring country that opposes Kosovo's independence.

The welcoming ceremony was staged on the ceremony platform in front of the Cotroceni Presidential Palace. Among the welcoming officials was member of parliament Slavomir Gvozdenovic, who represents the local Serb community in the Romanian Parliament.

The ceremony was followed by one-to-one talks between Tadic and his Romanian counterpart, Traian Basescu, and official talks attended by members of the two delegations. A news conference was scheduled for after the talks.

The trip, Tadic's first official visit abroad as Serbian president, came days after Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia on Sunday.

The Romanian Parliament on Monday voted against recognizing Kosovo's independence, and Basescu, the last head of state to have visited Serbia before Kosovo's breakaway, has denounced the unilateral declaration as "an illegal act."