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Serbs Push for Russia's Veto on Kosovo Independence Plan
The final round of talks over a UN plan to set Kosovo on the road to independence has ended in a stalemate. Serbia has dismissed the plan which is now at the UN Security Council for the final say in the dispute. The Serbs are expecting Russia, a permanent member of the Council, to veto the proposal.
UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari has declared an end to more than a year of fruitless talks. Mr. Ahtisaari said the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian majorities do not have “any common ground to reach an agreement” over the fate of the disputed province after a meeting in Vienna, the last round of talks.
Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said the plan, which would grant Kosovo supervised statehood, was a “brutal violation of the UN charter” and an attempt to dismember his country.
Belgrade has declared its protest against the upcoming vote on the plan at the UN Security Council. Serbia apparently hopes that Russia will use its right and veto the proposal, in which case negotiations on the Kosovo settlement will begin anew.
Moscow has so far been supportive of Belgrade in its determination to defend the country’s territorial integrity. A Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Sunday that Russia would seek a compromise at the UN Security Council. “A forced decision will not last,” Andrey Krivtsov told Kommersant.
At the same time, Russian diplomats admit off the record that Moscow is unlikely to veto the proposal, which may trigger more tensions with the West. “There’s no point in Russia’s vetoing,” a high-placed Kommersant source in the UN said. “Serbia has already lost Kosovo and won’t have it back. Abstaining in the vote, Moscow can save its face.”
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Mar. 12, 2007
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