Serbia praises Russia's rejection of new UN Kosovo resolution

Serbia praises Russia's rejection of new UN Kosovo resolution
Associated Press Worldstream - June 21, 2007 Thursday 1:22 PM GMT

By DUSAN STOJANOVIC, Associated Press Writer

BELGRADE Serbia - Serbia on Thursday welcomed Russia's rejection of a revised U.N. resolution that it said would only delay internationally supervised independence for its breakaway Kosovo province.

The new text, introduced in the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday and drafted by European Union nations and the United States, would give Serbs and independence-seeking Kosovo Albanians four more months to reach an agreement over the disputed region.

It states that the resolution's provisions, which lead to full independence, would take effect after 120 days "unless the Security Council expressly decides otherwise after conducting an evaluation."

Veto-wielding Russia and its traditional ally Serbia immediately rejected the revised plan, saying it would only postpone and not abolish the proposed independence for Kosovo.

Serbia's Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica issued a statement urging the United States and EU countries to withdraw the draft resolution. Kostunica said that "it is clear that, thanks to the Russian principal stand, a resolution which violates basic rules of the international law, cannot pass."

"No resolution is necessary for the relaunching of the negotiating process, only good will (is needed) to sit down and seek a compromise through dialogue," Kostunica added.

Earlier, other Serbian officials said that the new draft would not lead to "real" negotiations as Kosovo Albanians would not have an incentive to accept anything else but the promised independence for their province.

"We highly appreciate Russia's stand on the new resolution," Serbia's Vice Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic said. "We are ready for new negotiations. But, the serious negotiations were not the idea in this resolution."

Serbia's government minister for Kosovo, Slobodan Samardzic, said no new U.N. resolution was needed for reopening talks with rival Kosovo Albanians, "especially not the proposal that gives a time frame and prejudges the result of the negotiations."