Kosovo says independence on track despite UN rift

PRISTINA, Serbia, July 21 (Reuters) The West's decision to discard a UN resolution on the fate of Kosovo and pursue more talks will not stop the breakaway province's march to independence from Serbia, Kosovo politicians and analysts said.

The United States and Europeans shelved the draft yesterday because of opposition from Russia, an ally of Serbia that has for months blocked the secession of the Albanian-majority province through the United Nations.

Instead, envoys of the Contact Group on Kosovo - the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Russia - will meet next week to discuss launching another 120 days of shuttle diplomacy between Belgrade and Pristina.

It is unclear whether the Contact Group - an ad hoc body in which no one country has a veto - would then make a decision, or the issue would return to the UN Security Council.

The EU, which would take over the province under the draft resolution from the United Nations, wants a UN mandate to avoid internal divisions.

Ethnic Albanian leaders had anticipated that the United Nations would fail to reach consensus. They said they preferred UN-sanctioned independence but would not wait forever.

''Taking the Kosovo process out of the United Nations and into the Contact Group is meant to unblock the process,'' a senior government minister told Reuters.

''In the end, it will bring independence. We expect recognition from several states, and after that, the issue would come back to the United Nations with many more arguments and Kosovo would be officially recognised by the Security Council.'' Political analyst Dugajin Gorani said this was ''the only way out from the deadlock,'' and noted that the lack of a UN vote would not necessarily impede Kosovo's function as a state.

NO RUSSIAN VETO 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 Serbian troops who killed and expelled Albanians in a two-year war with guerrillas.

Kosovo Albanians say they cannot be forced back under Belgrade rule. Serbia, which sees Kosovo as the cradle of its Orthodox faith, rejects its secession.

Belgrade welcomed the withdrawal of the resolution as a ''victory''. But there was also concern the Contact Group, where Russia has no veto, would recommend independence for Kosovo.

''A decision on the status of Kosovo can only be taken by institutions such as the Security Council, because only then will it conform with international law,'' Serbian President Boris Tadic said.

Russia's Foreign Ministry called the decision to shelve the resolution a ''step in the right direction'' while echoing Serbia's call for the issue to be decided by the Security Council.

''A legitimate verdict can come only from the UN Security Council,'' the ministry said in a statement on its Web site.

''Attempts to bypass the UN in Kosovo affairs will contradict all international agreements on Kosovo, destabilise the Balkans and encourage separatists the world over,'' it said.

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