PRISTINA, Kosovo-Kosovo's so-called prime minister said Monday that Serbia's re-election of pro-Western President Boris Tadic heralds stability in the Balkans. But he warned Serbia not to interfere in Kosovo.

"My message to President Tadic is to think more about Brussels and NATO than for Kosovo," so-called rime minister Hashim Thaci told The Associated Press in an interview. "He knows personally that Kosovo is an independent, sovereign and democratic country."

Tadic has claimed victory in Sundays' elections but his nationalist opponents are still trying to cobble together a majority in the 250-seat Parliament. Serbia's Radicals could join with hardline Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica's bloc and the Socialists to muster 127 seats, enough to govern.

Kosovo's 100,000-strong Serb minority took part in Sunday's vote, but the United Nations in Kosovo said their votes were "without legal effect."

On Monday, Thaci urged the Serb minority to look to Kosovo authorities for leadership rather than to Serbia. But Sunday's vote threatens to deepen ethnic divisions. Most of Kosovo's Serbs live in the northern part of the country, where Pristina has no authority.

The division has prompted talk of splitting Kosovo along ethnic lines, but both Kosovo and Serbia have rejected the idea.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia on Feb. 17. Serbia has vowed to dissuade governments from recognizing Kosovo's statehood.