The U.S. and its European allies abandoned a bid to secure independence for Kosovo through the Security Council in face of a Russian veto threat and said they would seek an alternative route. Western nations have been trying to push a draft resolution in the U.N. Security Council to implement key provisions of U.N. mediator Martti Ahtissari’s plan to grant “supervised independence” to the breakaway Albanian-majority Serbian province. But they have hurtled into opposition from Moscow, Belgrade’s key ally, which has said it would use its power of veto to block the move. “We regret that it has been impossible to secure such a resolution in the U.N. Security Council,” France’s Ambassador to the U.N. Jean-Marc de la Sabliere told reporters on behalf of Western sponsors. “We will therefore put on hold discussions of a new resolution.” (AFP)
