Kosovo admitted to IOC, Serbia in shock, does not want Kosovo flag in Rio de Janeiro 2016.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has admitted Kosovo to full membership, at today's session of the IOC Executive Board held in Monaco, reports the BiH news agency Patria.

This makes Kosovo the 205th member of the IOC, and Kosovo athletes will be able to represent their country at the next Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, and next year they will also compete at the European Games in Azerbaijan.

The IOC began considering Kosovo's admission to its membership five years ago, and that process was finally concluded on Tuesday. Kosovo was previously admitted to the European Olympic Committee, of which it is the 50th full member.

Serbian media have called Kosovo's admission to the IOC today a major scandal, because the Serbian government has not yet recognized Kosovo as an independent state. So far, 108 out of 193 United Nations member states have recognized Kosovo as an independent state, reports NAP.