G8 deadlocked over delay to Kosovo independence

HEILIGENDAMM, Germany, June 8 (Reuters) The G8 summit reached deadlock today over independence for the breakaway Serbian province of Kosovo, with Russia rebuffing France's bid to avert Moscow's threatened veto by delaying a UN vote.

''There was no progress on Kosovo,'' French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on the last day of the June 6-8 talks on Germany's Baltic coast.

Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany said that unless it was clear that a delay would lead to a compromise then there was no reason to hold off putting the issue to a United Nations Security Council vote -- taking the dispute back to square one.

''There is no point in waiting for the sake of it. We have to have a clear idea of how we go forward,'' she said.

Merkel, Sarkozy, and US President George W Bush, along with Britain, Italy and Canada all support independence for the Albanian-majority territory that has been under UN control for eight years, and want a vote now.

Russia backs Serbia in its total opposition to independence, and opposes a draft Western resolution at the UN that would clear the way for Kosovo's statehood.

Sarkozy had suggested six months to find a deal, provided Moscow recognised ''the unavoidable prospect'' of independence.

But he said Russia would not agree.

''We cannot have a delay to let Belgrade and Pristina hold talks unless all the actors, notably the Russians, consider that the independence of Kosovo is an inevitable outcome,'' Sarkozy said.

Asked earlier if Russia's veto threat remained, the French leader responded: ''I think one could say it like that.'' FRAYED NERVES Reports of a possible delay jangled nerves in Kosovo, where a United States call for patience was quickly followed by an appeal to major powers from Prime Minister Agim Ceku to ''adopt a resolution as soon as possible or to let us take our own path''.

''We can't wait any more. Every day of delay means an increase in frustration and a loss of legitimacy,'' said Ceku, who has warned that Kosovo would declare independence unilaterally if thwarted by Russia.

A senior Western source said Kosovo Albanian leaders had been told by Western and U.N. diplomats to hold fire on any ''harsh statements'' until the results of the G8 summit were known.

A source in the Russian delegation said there was ''a general understanding'' among G8 leaders that there was ''no need to hurry'' a vote on Kosovo. But that view is not shared in the province, where NATO peacekeepers warn of mounting tension.

NATO forces intervened in Kosovo eight years ago by bombing Serbia for three months to halt the killing and expulsion of Albanians by Serb forces.

Ten thousand Albanians died in Serbia's 1998-99 counter-insurgency war and the West sees no prospect of forcing Kosovo's 2 million Albanians -- 90 per cent of the population -- back into the arms of Belgrade.

The United States had forecast a UN vote this week, but has apparently retreated in the face of a likely Russian veto.

REUTERS SLD RK2038