http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5ibw3IROtCVoeQiuQ1_bp3i9Pxq8g
Serbia pins blame of any Balkan flare-up on US 15 hours ago BELGRADE (AFP) — Serbia warned the United States on Friday that recognising Kosovo's independence would threaten Balkan peace, as NATO's chief visited the increasingly tense province after sending in reinforcements. "It is obvious that full responsibility rests on the United States and its choice, on one hand, for law and order and, on the other, long-term instability," Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica told the news agency Beta. Serbia was insisting a compromise solution on the future status of Kosovo be found before the UN Security Council to ensure regional peace and stability, said Kostunica. Kosovo has been run by UNMIK, a mission of the United Nations, since 1999 when a NATO air campaign drove out Belgrade-controlled forces waging a crackdown on separatist Albanian guerrillas and their civilian supporters. "It is out of the question to replace UNMIK with a mission of the European Union contrary to Resolution 1244," Kostunica said in reference to the Security Council resolution imposed after Kosovo's 1998-1999 conflict. "If the US confirmed its respect for Resolution 1244 ... a compromise would no doubt be found, satisfying the interests of both Serbia and Kosovo Albanians," he added. His statement came two days after last-ditch talks between Kosovo and Serbian leaders collapsed ahead of a December 10 deadline. Kosovo's 90-percent Albanian majority want independence and their leaders are threatening to declare it unilaterally, which the United States and many EU members have indicated they will recognise. Belgrade, supported by its ally Russia, is prepared only to grant wide autonomy, warning it would use "all legal and diplomatic measures" to quash independence. NATO-led KFOR troops in Kosovo were on Thursday boosted by 90 US soldiers deployed to reinforce 2,800 peacekeepers already positioned across the Serb-dominated north of the province. Germany previously announced it would be sending an extra 500 troops to join KFOR's 17,000 peacekeepers. "In this important period ... it must be underlined that KFOR is here and will stay here to protect every Kosovo citizen," NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer told a Pristina press conference on Friday. "With the tensions involved, it's important for everyone to realise that violence is never an option. We should allow the political process to run its course during this sensitive period," he added. Separately, moderate Kosovo Serb politician Oliver Ivanovic expressed hope that KFOR and NATO had "learned their lesson" during the anti-Serb riots of March 2004, in which 19 people were killed. "I hope that KFOR and NATO won't do anything that would disrupt Serbs," state-run Serbian news agency Tanjug quoted him as saying. "Isolated enclaves of Kosovo ... are home to Serbs who await every day with anxiety," said Ivanovic. International mediators in the Kosovo negotiations will visit Belgrade and Pristina on Monday, a week before they report to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. He is expected to propose further steps after studying the report, which the Security Council will discuss in a crucial meeting on December 19.
