(BELGRADE) - The crisis in Georgia is the result of a "domino effect" following Kosovo's declaration of independence from Belgrade, Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic said in an interview published Thursday.

"The Serbian government's position on Kosovo is well-known and remains unchanged," Cvetkovic told the daily Politika, referring to Serbia's staunch opposition to the secession of Kosovo, its disputed province.

"At the proper time, we warned that any unilateral declaration of Kosovo's independence can provoke a domino effect. Unfortunately, that is now happening" in the Caucasus, he was quoted as saying.

Ethnic Albanian-majority Kosovo, a southern province of Serbia, proclaimed independence on February 17 despite warnings from Belgrade and its ally Moscow about setting an illegal and dangerous precedent.

Kosovo has since been recognised by more than 40 nations, including the United States and most of the European Union, which Russia cited to help justify its recognition earlier this week of the Georgian breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

"We expect that the situation won't have a negative impact on us," said Cvetkovic, the leader of a West-leaning Serbian government that made EU integration its top priority when it came to power in July.

Despite Moscow recognising South Ossetia and Abkhazia, "the information that we received is that Russsia continues to uphold its earlier position" of siding with Serbia in its opposition to Kosovo's independence, he added.

Separately, Cvetkovic reiterated Serbia's opposition to the deployment of a 3,000-strong EU mission dubbed EULEX under the UN's umbrella in Kosovo without it being agreed by the UN Security Council.

"The arrival of EULEX without an appropriate UN resolution and without our agreement is illegal and that for us is unacceptable," said the Serbian premier.

"We have great interests in Kosovo, we have people who live there and expect some more (Serb refugees) to return, and we have to improve life in Kosovo for all citizens for whom we are responsible.

"We continue to put an emphasis on the fact that we want to be included ... and to negotiate what in the end will become a resolution that will be approved by the Security Council," he said.

Kosovo has been run by the United Nations under a resolution passed by the Security Council in 1999, after NATO bombing drove out Serbian forces waging a brutal crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists.

Belgrade considers Kosovo the cradle of its history, culture and religion. Serbs account for slightly more than 100,000 of Kosovo's estimated two million population, which is around 90-percent ethnic Albanian.

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