Blocked by a Russian veto threat, supporters of a UN plan to grant independence to the Serb province of Kosovo ended their bid in the Security Council on Friday and transferred diplomatic efforts to a six-nation group involved in the dispute, according to dpa. European Union foreign ministers will pick up the issue in Brussels Monday and the Contact Group - composed of the US, Britain, Russia, France, Italy and Germany - will meet in Vienna on Wednesday for the same purpose. The Contact Group issued a statement at UN headquarters following a closed-door session of the 15-nation council, saying it was decided to seek a non-UN solution for Kosovo. Russia has no veto power in the new forum. "We regret that it has been impossible to secure such a resolution in the UN Security Council," said the statement, which was read by French Ambassador Jean-Marc de la Sabliere. "We will therefore put on hold discussion of the resolution." The statement reiterated support for a UN blueprint laying out a path towards Kosovan independence, worked out by former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari. Russia and Serbia strongly opposed the plan and called for more talks because options have not been exhausted. The Contact Group agreed to a new 120-day round of negotiations as a concession to Russia, but remained adamant that the Ahtisaari plan would be activated, leading inevitably to independence for Kosovo. "The people of Kosovo should be given the opportunity to realize their political and economic development," the statement said. "We are determined to assist them in that aim in the period ahead." "A timely resolution of the Kosovo's status will also enable Serbia to move beyond the conflicts of the 1990s and towards a brighter European and Euro-Atlantic future," the statement said. "Therefore we believe that resolving Kosovo's status must be achieved as soon as possible. We hope that these discussions would lead to agreement between the parties. If not, we continue to believe that the Ahtisaari plan is the best way forward." Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin confirmed that Russia had threatened to veto the UN resolution during the council's closed-door session. "We were not going to let it pass," Churkin told reporters. Churkin said Russia will take part in discussions in the Contact Group and there would be no pause in the diplomatic efforts to resolve the Kosovo issue. Both the Contact Group and Russia claimed "broad support" for their positions in the council. But diplomats said the issue of territorial integrity and international law played an important role in sinking efforts by Western nations to push through the draft resolution. Diplomats said the Western powers in the council preferred not to push Russia to cast its veto in order to maintain a working relationship with Moscow on other international issues. Churkin acknowledged that his counterparts supporting Kosovo independence had shown a "positive" attitude.
