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UNITED NATIONS - The United States and Europeans discarded a UN resolution on the future status of Kosovo because of Russian opposition, prompting Pristina to propose independence from Serbia for November 28.
Instead, the Western sponsors of the resolution decided to pursue negotiations between Kosovo and Serbian leaders in a Contact Group of advisors on the Balkans. But there is no plan on what to do if those talks fail.
The watered-down UN Security Council resolution, the third in as many months, included a framework that key Serbia ally Russia said would lead to independence of the Serbian province by stealth.
Kosovo, where 90 percent of the 2 million people are ethnic Albanians, has been run by the United Nations since 1999, when Nato bombs forced out Serbian troops who were killing and expelling Albanians in a two-year war with guerrillas.
"We regret that it has been impossible to secure such a resolution in the United Nations Security Council," said a statement read by France's UN Ambassador Jean-Marc de la Sabliere.
"We will therefore put on hold discussions on the resolution," de la Sabliere said on behalf of the resolution's sponsors, the United States, Britain, Belgium, Italy, Germany, and France.
In Pristina, Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku called on parliament on Friday to declare unilateral independence from Serbia on November 28 because of the UN diplomatic stalemate.
He said the Kosovo parliament should adopt a resolution setting the date on his return from Washington, where he will meet US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Monday.
"The United Nations has failed to act," Ceku said after meeting UN Kosovo governor Joachim Ruecker.
"My idea is a way out of this situation. We are offering our partners a solution." November 28 marks independence day in neighboring Albania, a date also celebrated by Kosovo's 90-percent Albanian majority.
Serbia opposes independence for Kosovo, cherished by many Serbs as their spiritual heartland.
The draft UN resolution would have had the European Union take over from the United Nations, thereby removing the issue from Russia's influence. Nato troops, which now number 16,000 in Kosovo, would stay in place.
The draft also called for renewed negotiations between Pristina and Belgrade for 120 days, which would be conducted by the Contact Group, meeting on July 25 in Vienna. It is composed of the United States, Russia, Britain, France, Italy and Germany. But no one country has veto rights.
While the French statement did not mention Russia, US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad did, saying, "We have a new process that is not subjected to a Russia veto."
Russia's UN Ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, who has veto power in the Security Council was steadfast in opposing any plan without Belgrade's consent, saying that chopping off a province set a bad precedent for countries facing separatist movements.
China, Indonesia and South Africa also raised some doubts.
Churkin said Russia "intended to take a most active part in the work of the Contact Group," adding that the issue would return to the Council if a compromise was reached.
"There's going to be no pause in diplomatic and political activity around this issue," Churkin told reporters.
Although the resolution did not call for independence, it followed several key provisions of a supervised independence plan devised by UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari who negotiated with both sides for 13 months without success.
Pristina could declare independence, ask the United Nations to leave and invite the Europeans into the province. Much would then depend on how many countries recognized Kosovo.
While the United States has indicated it would do so, the European Union is key in the Balkans for political and financial support.
Technically, the UN mission would have to annul any unilateral declaration, and risk a violent backlash Nato troops would have to quell.
In Belgrade, Serbia said the choice of November 28 pointed to the creation of a Greater Albania, something Kosovo and Albania have rejected. "A unilateral declaration of independence would do them more harm than good," said senior Serb official Dusan Prorokovic.
- REUTERS
