The UN Security Council agreed Friday to dispatch a delegation to Belgrade and Pristina to review the situation in Kosovo, which would be transformed into an independent nation under a UN blueprint, according to dpa. The delegation, headed by a Belgian diplomat, is scheduled to visit the two capitals before the end of the month and would make a stopover in Brussels for more discussion with NATO and the European Union, which also support Kosovo independence. Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said the delegation would make a "comprehensive review" of a resolution that calls for the council to decide on the final political status of Kosovo. Kosovo has been administered by the UN since 1999 after NATO warplanes ended Serb security forces accused of repressing Albanian ethnics in Kosovo. "We are very pleased that the council has accepted a Russian initiative to send the delegation," Churkin told reporters. Russia and Serbia are opposed to granting independence to Kosovo and have called for more negotiations and a new negotiator to replace Martti Ahtisaari, the former Finnish president, who worked out the blueprint for Kosovo. Ahtisaari remains a special envoy for Kosovo despite Russian and Serb objections.
