Italy to back "non-traumatic" independence on Kosovo

TELESE TERME, Italy, Sept 1 (Reuters) Italy will push for Kosovo's independence and seek a ''non-traumatic'' solution for the province, the foreign minister said today, but added that Serb demands on safeguarding sacred sites must be granted.

A United Nations plan to give Kosovo independence from Serbia has been blocked by Serbian ally Russia, spurring negotiations with the ''troika'' of Russia, the European Union and the United States to reach a deal.

The 27-member EU is so far split on the idea of recognising a new European state without a UN resolution.

Italy, among EU members with the largest peacekeeping contingent in Kosovo, is part of the six-nation Contact Group -- a non-executive body steering Balkan diplomacy that includes the United States, Germany, Britain, France and Russia.

''It is clear that we want a solution that is shared as much as possible and non-traumatic,'' Italian foreign minister Massimo D'Alema said.

''I remain convinced that Kosovo's independence...is the most reasonable solution but at the same time I believe that the guarantees asked for by minority Serbs for their sacred Orthodox places must be given in a serious manner,'' he said.

Many Serbs consider Kosovo as their sacred cradle, the heart of the medieval Serb kingdom. The province's ethnic Albanian majority wants full independence, but Belgrade has refused to give them that.

''In all, we are working for a solution that will not create lacerations and not create instability,'' D'Alema said.

The United Nations took control of Kosovo in 1999 after Western powers intervened to halt the killing and expulsion of Albanians by Serb forces fighting separatist guerrillas.

REUTERS PY RAI2101