Serbia seeks allies in drive to halt Kosovo's ambitions

SERBIA:Serbian president Boris Tadic warned yesterday that an independent Kosovo could destabilise the whole of Europe as Belgrade launched a diplomatic offensive to stop the mostly ethnic-Albanian region winning sovereignty.

Senior officials from Russia and China were in Serbia to discuss Kosovo, which fellow permanent members of the UN Security Council - Britain, France and the United States - want to see granted so-called conditional independence as soon as possible.

"If Kosovo gets independence, European stability will be jeopardised. Serbia will never recognise the independence of Kosovo," Mr Tadic said at a conference attended by leaders of the countries along the Danube.

The office of the Serb prime minister, Vojislav Kostunica, claimed yesterday that he had received support for Serbia's stance on Kosovo from Chinese vice-premier Hui Liangyu.

"Liangyu pointed out that China opposes an imposed solution for Kosovo and is against setting deadlines for finding a solution, adding that a compromise solution for Kosovo must be found through negotiations of the two sides, Belgrade and Pristina," Mr Kostunica's office said in a statement.

"Liangyu stressed that only a compromise solution . . . could contribute to the preservation of the peace and stability in the region."

Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, was due to arrive in Belgrade last night for further talks.

Meanwhile, Moscow's ambassador to London, Yuri Fedotov, reiterated that Russia did not favour a Security Council vote on Kosovo until Belgrade and the Kosovo Albanians had reached a compromise.

Vitaly Churkin, Moscow's ambassador to the UN, went further, denouncing Washington's plans to present swiftly a resolution on Kosovo as "destructive".

Analysts say that Serbia's leaders are relying on Russia and China to block Kosovo's drive for independence but may be overplaying their hand by pushing Moscow and Beijing towards an unwanted diplomatic confrontation with Washington.