Russia rejects West's U.N. plan on Kosovo's future

UNITED NATIONS-Russia gave a definitive "no" on Monday to a European-American draft resolution on Kosovo that would end a U.N. presence and put European representatives in charge of the Serbian province.The Russian response to the revised U.N. Security Council draft leaves the West in a quandary on whether to call a vote that Moscow would veto or to move ahead on a route toward independence for Kosovo outside of the 15-member council.Moscow's U.N. ambassador,Vitaly Churkin, said the text was a stealth move toward independence, despite its call for 120 days of further talks between Belgrade and Pristina.He said the resolution's chances of adoption are "zero.""Almost the entire text and maybe particularly the annexes are permeated with the concept of the independence of Kosovo," Churkin said.Kosovo, where 90 percent of the 2 million people are ethnic Albanians, has been run by the United Nations since 1999, when NATO bombs forced out Serb troops that were killing and expelling Albanians in a two-year war with guerrillas.Substituting European representatives for the United Nations in Kosovo would reduce the influence of the Security Council, and by extension Russia, an ally of the Serbia.France's U.N. ambassador,Jean-Marc de la Sabliere, speaking on behalf of the sponsors, told reporters it was difficult to guess what to do after four months of negotiations should the resolution be adopted.He said the sponsors would consult with their capitals.If Kosovo and Serbia reached an agreement, the council could adopt a resolution endorsing it. If they did not, members would have to review what to do next."We cannot say today.We do not know," de la Sabliere said.
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