New UN draft glosses over Kosovo independence

UNITED NATIONS, July 11 (Reuters) A new European-United States draft resolution sidesteps Kosovo's independence from Serbia but calls for European instead of UN supervision in an effort to end Belgrade's rule, according to a text obtained by Reuters today.

The document, not yet distributed to the full 15-member UN Security Council, provides for another four months of talks between Serbia and Kosovo leaders and a council review at the end of it, in another quest to get Russian support.

Kosovo, where 90 per cent of the 2 million people are ethnic Albanians, has been run by the United Nations since 1999, when NATO bombs forced out Serb troops that were killing and expelling Albanians in a two-year war with guerrillas.

''We have an agreement among the sponsors on a text,'' US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad told reporters. ''We are meeting with our Russian colleague, and based on those discussions'' he said the sponsors were ''within two to three days'' circulating the document to the full council.

However, Khalilzad and other Western envoys stopped short of saying they would force a council vote that might be vetoed by Russia, presenting the West with a dilemma over what to do if Kosovo then declared independence.

Specifically, the draft, subject to revision, follows a plan by UN mediator Martti Ahtisaari by deciding to put in place an European overseer and European Union-led police instead of the current UN mission. NATO troops would remain.

However, it does not put into effect the entire Ahtisaari virtual independence program for Kosovo, such as the Serbian province's right to join international institutions, as earlier drafts did.

European envoys believe these new institutions point the way toward independence for Kosovo, which would happen by default, even without being specified in the resolution. But other envoys believe the Security Council would have to enact a second resolution.

Karen Pierce, the deputy British ambassador, insisted yesterday that ''independence for Kosovo is inevitable reflecting the aspirations of more than 90 percent of the population.'' KOSOVO UNHAPPY But Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku said Russia had blocked the UN route, and new talks would change nothing, adding, ''We need clarity, and fast.'' In an interview with Reuters in Brussels, Ceku asked the European Union today to back a deadline by which time its independence should be settled by the Security Council.

If by such a deadline, there was no UN resolution setting Kosovo on the way to independence, Ceku said the province would declare independence.

The new draft, subject to revisions, is the third attempt to get agreement from Russia. Moscow has said that Kosovo cannot be severed from Serbia without Belgrade's consent.

Council members China, Indonesia and South Africa more or less agreed with Russia, diplomats said.

Ahtisaari, who drew up a plan that would lead to independence, has said an agreed solution is impossible.

The draft resolution would decide that European Union representatives and EU-led police would take over from the United Nations ''at the end of a 120-day transition period following adoption of this resolution.'' The council also ''affirms its readiness to review the situation further'' in light of new talks between the Kosovars and the Serbs, the text says.

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