KOSOVO:Kosovo's leaders have called on the European Union and United States to "urgently" approve their bid for independence from Serbia, as today's deadline for a negotiated solution with Belgrade expired.
Washington and Brussels agree with Kosovo that further talks are pointless, while Serbia and Russia demand continued discussion of the region's future. The latter vows to block any United Nations resolution on the matter not acceptable to Belgrade.
The UN Security Council plans to discuss a report on the talks on December 19th but, before that, the EU is expected to declare itself ready to replace a UN mission in providing security and justice in Kosovo and overseeing the running of the 90 per cent Albanian province.
Even without agreeing to unanimously recognise a sovereign Kosovo, diplomats say the EU will almost certainly approve the deployment of an 1,800-strong mission to help run the region, taking over from UN officials.
"After eight years of uncertainty, the people of Kosovo urgently need clarity about their future," Kosovo's government and opposition leaders said in a joint statement, adding that they would "do everything in our power to ensure the situation remains calm". More than 16,000 Nato peacekeepers will remain in Kosovo to calm fears of a return to violence in a region run by the UN since a US-led bombing campaign ended a 1998-1999 Serb crackdown on separatist rebels that killed 10,000 people.
Nato has also pledged to protect the 100,000 Serbs still living in Kosovo, who fear Albanian reprisals and may flee towards Serbia proper when independence is declared.
"It is of the greatest importance that the Security Council support the proposal of Russia" to hold more talks, said Serb prime minister Vojislav Kostunica, warning that "an illegal declaration of independence" would be "a dangerous experiment with unpredictable consequences".
Moscow warns recognising an independence declaration from Kosovo would embolden separatist groups worldwide.
