Kosovo:Leaders of Serbia and Kosovo and their foreign allies clashed yesterday over the future of the Albanian-dominated province, as talks resumed in the shadow of a Western-imposed deadline to resolve its bid for independence.
Serbia and Russia demand that negotiations continue after December 10th and claim an independent Kosovo would spark conflict in the Balkans and beyond.
The United States and major European Union nations, meanwhile, say more talks are pointless and that giving supervised sovereignty to Kosovo would defuse the threat of violence.
Amid dire warnings from Belgrade and Moscow over the danger of igniting ethnic tensions in southern Serbia and neighbouring Macedonia, Albania's president also insisted that an independent Kosovo would encourage lasting peace in the wider region.
"Serbia will not let an inch of its territory be taken away," said prime minister Vojislav Kostunica before talks began in the Austrian spa town of Baden.
Kosovo's premier, Agim Ceku, countered: "The only acceptable solution is independence for Kosovo. If [ the Serbs] are courageous enough to distance from the past and accept reality, we can reach an accord."
The two sides have made no progress during talks and accuse each other of intransigence: Belgrade says Kosovo should accept broad autonomy but remain within Serbia, while Kosovo accuses Belgrade of being blind to the fact it lost control of the province when the United Nations started running it in 1999, when Nato bombed Serb forces to end their brutal campaign against separatist rebels.
"I hope that we are going to have an agreement that will be mutually acceptable," said Serb president Boris Tadic. "Otherwise, we are going to have instability in the region." Albanian president Bamir Topi, speaking in Athens, said only sovereignty for Kosovo would satisfy the province's restive people.
"The independence of Kosovo would contribute to the final pacification of the area," he said. "I believe the future of Kosovo, Albania and Serbia lies with the European Union." Serbia is drawing up a plan to deal with a declaration of independence by Kosovo, while the EU is preparing to send 1,800 police and officials to bolster a security force of 16,000 Nato troops.
Among EU members, Spain, Greece, Cyprus, Romania and Slovakia are believed to have reservations about recognising Kosovo's independence without a UN resolution, fearing it would encourage separatism among their national minorities.
