US pushes Russia to endorse latest Kosovo plan

By Staff
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UNITED NATIONS, July 14 (Reuters) The United States has threatened to move forward on Kosovo, which is clamoring for independence from Serbia, whether Russia agreed or not to the latest UN Security Council draft resolution.

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.

''The noises that we hear from Moscow are not encouraging, but we have not heard the final word from Moscow, and it is up to Russia whether the council plays a role in deciding the next stage in regard to Kosovo or not,'' US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said in a telephone conference yesterday.

''We are determined to move forward, either within the council or otherwise,'' Khalilzad said, without describing what steps would be taken if the resolution were not adopted.

The latest draft, sponsored by the United States and Europeans on the Security Council, was circulated to all 15 council members yesterday and will be discussed on Monday.

But Khalilzad would not say whether he and envoys 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.

''We will decide that in the course of discussions on Monday,'' Khalilzad said, adding that the resolution's sponsors had agreement from a majority of the council.

In an effort to get Russian support, the draft calls for 120 days of negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina, but drops an automatic trigger of a UN plan that would lead to Kosovo's independence, contained in earlier drafts.

AWAITING FINAL WORD FROM RUSSIA But it would end the UN presence in Kosovo and substitute European representatives instead, thereby potentially taking a final decision on independence out of the Security Council.

Khalilzad said Russia's UN ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, had not flatly rejected the draft, despite negative comments on Thursday from Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

He said Churkin had asked for clarification of some provisions of the text, but that the ''core'' of the resolution would not be changed, although some ''wording at the margins'' might be.

Khalilzad said if Russia continued to object ''this will not stop the situation from (going) forward, but it will be outside the Security Council framework, which is not what we want.'' Asked if Russia was threatening to veto the resolution, he quoted Churkin as saying, ''I did not say rejection.'' ''We have to wait for the final word for clarity in regard to their position,'' Khalilzad said.

The new draft is the third attempt to get agreement from Russia. Moscow has said that Kosovo cannot be severed from Serbia without Belgrade's consent and council members China, Indonesia and South Africa have also hesitated.

The draft follows a plan by UN mediator Martti Ahtisaari by deciding to put in place a 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.

But it calls for a Security Council review at the end of the 120 days of renewed negotiations between Pristina and Belgrade, which could lead to another decision on the future of the Serbian province, Khalilzad said.

REUTERS PDS BST0431

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