NEW YORK - Russia gave a definitive "no" yesterday to a European-American draft resolution on Kosovo that would end a United Nations presence and put European representatives in charge of the Serbian province.
The Russian response to the revised UN Security Council draft leaves the West in aquandary on whether to call a vote that Moscow would veto or to move ahead on a route towards independence for Kosovo outside of the 15-member council.
Moscow's UN Ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, said the text was a stealth move towards independence, despite its call for 120 days of further talks between Belgrade and Pristina. He said the resolution's chances of adoption are "zero".
"Almost the entire text and maybe particularly the annexes are permeated with the concept of the independence of Kosovo," Churkin said.
Kosovo, where 90 per cent of the 2 million people are ethnic Albanians, has been run by the UN since 1999, when Nato bombs forced out Serb troops that were killing and expelling Albanians. Substituting European representatives for the UN in Kosovo would reduce the influence of the Security Council, and by extension Russia, an ally of Serbia.
France's UN Ambassador, Jean-Marc de la Sabliere, speaking on behalf of the sponsors, said it was difficult to guess what to do after four months of negotiations should the resolution be adopted. If Kosovo and Serbia reached an agreement, the council could adopt a resolution endorsing it. If they did not, members would have to review what to do next.
But Churkin said a review was not good enough and the council would have to make a decision at the end of any negotiating period, not just discuss the issue.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon expressed concern that Kosovo's leaders would declare unilateral independence from Serbia, even if this deprived them of European aid.
Western diplomats said Russia was not negotiating on the text so they would have to consult with their respective governments on the next step.
