Serbia : Kosovo's future in UN hands, not US

SERBIA: The Serbian government on Sunday dismissed U.S. President George W. Bush's press for Kosovo statehood, saying the province's future lies in the hands of the United Nations, not the United States.

Srdjan Djuric, an adviser to Serbia's Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, said Belgrade enjoys firm backing from Russia for its bid to keep Kosovo within its boundaries.

"It is absolutely clear that independent Kosovo will not pass in the U.N. Security Council," Djuric said, suggesting that Russia will use its power of veto to block a U.S.-backed resolution paving the way for the Kosovo split.

"As far as the statement American President Bush made today in Tirana, is concerned, I must remind you that the future status of Kosovo is not in the hands of the United States but the U.N. Security Council," Djuric said.

Bush said in the Albanian capital, Tirana, on Sunday that there cannot be endless dialogue on Kosovo, and that the United States supports the province's independence. "At some point in time - sooner rather than later - you've got to say 'Enough is enough. Kosovo is independent' and that's the position we've taken," he said.

Moscow opposes independence for Kosovo, fearing it would encourage separatist movements in other countries. Russian officials have called for a solution that would be accepted by both Serbia and separatist Kosovo Albanians.

"We need to get moving and the end result is independence," Bush said at a joint press conference with Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha.

"If not, we're going to have to move. Independence is the goal," he said, adding that he had asked the Albanian prime minister to "work with the leaders in Kosovo to maintain calm during these final stages of Kosovo's final status process."

It was the latest issue to heighten tensions between Washington and Moscow, which vehemently opposes independence for the breakaway Serbian province.

Ties between the United States and Russia have already cooled over Washington's plan to set up a missile defence shield in Eastern Europe which Russia says could fuel a new arms race on the continent.

Bush, the first US leader to visit Albania, said US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would work hard to secure a resolution palatable to the UN Security Council, including veto-carrying Russia.

UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari's calls for Kosovo's independence are backed by Kosovo Albanian leaders, Washington and the European Union, but rejected by Serbia and Russia.

Serbia reacted swiftly to Bush's announcement, saying Belgrade would strike down any unilateral declaration of freedom.

"If Albanian separatists unilaterally proclaim independence, the Serbian government will immediately enact a law which will annul this unilateral decision and declare it null and void," a source in the Serbian cabinet told the Tanjug news agency.

Andrija Mladenovic, spokesman for Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica's party, meanwhile said "all state institutions will immediately reject any such proclamation of independence," Tanjug reported.

Bush got a rare and adoring welcome in Albania in stark contrast to the protests the president has faced during previous overseas tours due to the US policy in Iraq.

Albanian prime minister Berisha said Bush was the "greatest and most distinguished guest we have ever had in all times, the president of the United States of America, the leading country of the free world."

Belgrade, Tirana, Monday, AP, AFP