Kosovo sees independence right after talks end

PRISTINA, Serbia, Aug 27 (Reuters) Kosovo expects to declare independence and seek recognition from its Western backers right after talks with Serbia close on December 10, Prime Minister Agim Ceku today said.

Speaking ahead of a round of talks this week in Vienna, Ceku said the Albanian majority territory would remain stable provided the West moves quickly to recognise it as Europe's newest state, the last to be carved from the former Yugoslavia.

''Kosovo will be stable and peaceful if we all invest, if we are all careful and do our job,'' he told a news conference.

''First, the international community must act quickly to recognise our country.'' Asked what would happen after December 10, when a troika of envoys heading the new talks is to report back to the United Nations, Ceku said: ''The only development I expect is the declaration and recognition of Kosovo's independence. This must happen immediately after December 10.'' Leaders of Serbia and Kosovo's 90-percent Albanian majority return to Vienna on Thursday to meet envoys from the United States, European Union and Russia heading the latest bid for a deal on the fate of the breakaway province.

The new talks have been forced by Russia, which rejected a UN Security Council resolution based on a plan by UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari offering independence under EU supervision.

The West says this round should be the last before a final decision is taken. Russia rejects any deadline.

Few observers hold out any hope of a Security Council resolution, and believe the United States and EU will have to decide whether to back a unilateral declaration of independence by 2 million Kosovo Albanians who reject a return to Serb rule.

The territory has been run by the United Nations since 1999, when NATO bombed to drive out Serb forces and halt the killing and expulsion of Albanians in a two-year counter-insurgency war.

Belgrade has offered Kosovo broad autonomy but no strategy to integrate its Albanian majority.

Ahtisaari, who mediated 13 months of negotiations, said chances of a Serb-Albanian deal were nil. The EU should push ahead to implement his plan as soon as the troika reports back.

''It is high time to move from the conflict-management phase to the endgame,'' he told a forum on Sunday in Bled, Slovenia.

''Otherwise the stalemate will persist, but the EU cannot afford Kosovo to become just another frozen conflict,'' the former Finnish president said. ''Doing nothing is not an option.'' The 27-member EU is split on the idea of recognising Kosovo without a UN resolution, but analysts warn of unrest if Albanians see the West's promise of independence evaporate.

Ahtisaari called for a ''strong and consistent united European position in the coming months''.

''Kosovo is and should be primarily a European issue.'' REUTERS SY KP2256