http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L24683726.htm
Reuters April 24, 2007 Russia, Kosovo clash on independence plan -"We are not alone in this process," said Kosovo premier Agim Ceku. "Saying 'No' to (the) plan is not just a 'No' to us. It is a 'No' to the international community, the United States and United Kingdom." PRISTINA, Serbia - The prime minister of Serbia's breakaway Kosovo province requested clarification on Tuesday of an apparent warning from Russia that it would veto a Western-backed plan to give the territory independence. Opposing Russian and Western positions on Kosovo's future status have hardened ahead of a United Nations Security Council fact-finding mission to the disputed territory this week. "We are not alone in this process," said Kosovo premier Agim Ceku. "Saying 'No' to (the) plan is not just a 'No' to us. It is a 'No' to the international community, the United States and United Kingdom." The plan by U.N. envoy Martti Ahtisaari would make Kosovo independent under European Union supervision. It is strongly opposed by Serbia, with the backing of Russia. In Moscow, a foreign ministry spokesman declined to confirm an apparent veto warning attributed to Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Titov by Interfax news agency. Interfax quoted him as saying: "A decision based on Martti Ahtisaari's draft will not get through the U.N. Security Council. "I think the threat of using the veto should stimulate the sides to find a mutually acceptable mechanism...." Asked to clarify whether Titov's remarks meant Russia would use its veto, a Foreign Ministry spokesman referred Reuters to comments made by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on a visit to Serbia last week. Lavrov said that until a resolution was put before the Security Council "there is nothing to veto". He said Russia wanted further talks on Kosovo's status. At Russia's suggestion, ambassadors of the 15 U.N. Security Council members are due in Kosovo this week to assess the situation on the ground before considering the Ahtisaari plan. The majority Albanian province has been run by the United Nations since 1999, when NATO bombs drove out Serb forces.... The United States and major European Union powers want the U.N. Security Council to endorse the independence plan drafted by former Finnish president Ahtisaari by mid-year and are worried Albanian impatience might spill over into unrest. Ahtisaari chaired a year of talks between Serbs and Albanians. His plan offers independence to Kosovo under an open-ended period of EU supervision, with broad self-government for the remaining 100,000 Serbs. Serbia rejects independence and is relying on its fellow Orthodox Christian ally Russia to use its veto at the U.N. Security Council and secure fresh talks. .... (Additional reporting by Fatos Bytyci in Pristina) ==================
