Serb coalition splits over NATO deepen

BELGRADE, Sept 6 (Reuters) Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica is telling Serbs they must reject NATO if the Western allies recognise an independent Kosovo, putting him on a collision course with his pro-Western coalition partners.

The cracks in the fragile four-month government are becoming clear in a debate so far conducted by proxy, but which could have repercussions for Serbia's upcoming presidential elections and the entire project of its slow rapprochement with Europe.

After accusing NATO of wanting Kosovo as its own state, Kostunica's Democratic Party of Serbia raised the stakes by saying Serbia must consider its options if Kosovo is made independent, including a law that Serbia ''cannot be a NATO member''.

Kostunica has claimed credit for blocking a Western-backed Kosovo independence resolution at the United Nations with the help of Russia, which holds a veto in the world body.

In recent days he has also warned Serbs of ''a danger that Albanian separatists, supported by the United States and NATO, unilaterally proclaim independence on December. 11, with the US and NATO recognizing that state soon afterwards.'' December. 11 is the day after a 'troika' of Russian, US and EU diplomats reports to the UN on the outcome of talks between Serbia and Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority. There is no sign of any compromise between them. Some Serb analysts warn that talk of a hardline response is already damaging fragile ties.

Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic was in Brussels yesterday to present Serbia's military reforms as part its role in the Partnership for Peace programme, the usual ante-room to full membership. Local media quoted sources saying his presentation stopped short of the customary commitment to joining NATO.

DISAPPOINTMENT AND CONCERN Spokesman James Appathurai said NATO officials conveyed to Jeremic their ''disappointment and concern''.

NATO understands ''the complexity of the coalition'' in Belgrade but charges that it wants its own state were ''pure politics'', Serbia's Beta news agency quoted him as saying.

Some in Kostunica's party, echoing the conspiracy theories of anti-Western ultranationalists, say the West's desire to get hold of Kosovo is the real reason NATO bombed Serbia in 1999.

The stated goal of the intervention was to halt the killing of Albanian civilians in Serbia's two-year war with separatists.

Kostunica's coalition partners, the Democrats of President Boris Tadic and the smaller G17 party, do not share his views, and have EU membership and economic growth as top priorities.

Serbia's defence minister, a member of Tadic's party, reminded Serbs on Thursday that ''not one country had joined the EU without joining NATO first.

''It would be absurd to end relations with NATO and continue with the EU,'' Dragan Sutanovac said.

One Belgrade-based diplomat said Serb defiance might only go so far, and Serb politicians are ''possibly preparing the ground for a gesture after Kosovo's final status is determined.

''But they also know that NATO and EU membership go hand in hand. This is definitely for internal consumption, but the issue now is whether it will split the coalition,'' the diplomat said.

REUTERS JK RK1727