Kosovo's Prime Minister Agim Ceku on Wednesday said he was losing patience with United Nations-led efforts on the future status of the breakaway Serbian province and urged the European Union to move forward on granting Kosovo independence, according to dpa. "It seems to us that we will not have an acceptable solution at the UN Security Council," Ceku told reporters after talks with EU chief diplomat Javier Solana. "We are calling for a new approach, for a more brave approach to Kosovo's status," Ceku said. Solana immediately countered that the EU wanted the UN Security Council to decide the controversial matter. But Ceku said it was "not enough for countries and the international community to say that we are all waiting for a UN Security Council solution." "We have to stop pretending that the UN Security Council has an answer to every question," he said, adding: "Kosovo is ready and Kosovo needs movement now." Solana said international diplomatic efforts to reach agreement on Kosovo would continue at the UN but warned that the discussions would not be "an open-ended process." Solana's meeting with Ceku and Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu came on the heels of his talks with Serbian President Boris Tadic and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon. Ban on Tuesday warned against any further delay in deciding Kosovo's final status, saying postponing a decision on its future would have an impact across the Balkans. The UN chief also cautioned against any "premature" unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo and urged the EU to take a leadership role in the province. The UN has recommended that Kosovo be granted internationally- supervised independence but this is strongly opposed by Serbia and Russia. Both Belgrade and Moscow say independence for Kosovo would set a dangerous precedent for other disputed territories. But Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leaders have threatened to declare unilateral independence from Belgrade unless the international community backs their aspirations soon. EU states have come out in favour of the UN blueprint but the bloc's unity on the issue remains fragile, with some countries concerned about Belgrade's reaction. There are fears that a unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo, possibly backed by the US, could split the bloc. Kosovo has been under UN administration since the 1999 NATO air war which drove Serbian forces out of the province. A draft resolution under discussion by the 15-nation UN Security Council calls for a fresh 120-day extension of the negotiations, which ended earlier this year. The draft says the UN blueprint will kick in if the new talks failed to break the current deadlock.
