Discussions on the status of Kosovo - whether it should be granted sovereignty or remain a part of Serbia - have continued since NATO's 78-day bombing campaign against the former Yugoslavia ended a war between Serb forces and Muslim Albanian separatists in 1999, making the mostly Albanian-populated province in southern Serbia a UN protectorate.
The plan proposed by UN special envoy Martti Ahtisaari, which would eventually grant Kosovo the independence sought by its Albanian majority, has been rejected by Serbia and veto-wielding Russia, while the U.S. and the EU have expressed support for sovereignty.
"If Russia uses its veto right in the Security Council, the new resolution can be considered a failure, but at the same time, the Americans will use their skill to turn insignificant problems into global ones and claim that that they have fulfilled their commitments to Kosovo Albanians, making Russia accountable for the chaos that might ensue in the region," Vuk Draskovic said in an interview with Belgrade-based B92 radio and television station.
Russia's position is that a plan to resolve the status must satisfy both Kosovars and Belgrade, and that Security Council Resolution 1244 must be fully implemented first.
Adopted in 1999, the resolution determined to resolve the grave humanitarian situation in Kosovo and to provide for the safe and free return of all refugees and displaced persons to their homes, a requirement still far from being fulfilled.
The minister said Belgrade could count on half of the Security Council's elected members to oppose Ahtisaari's plan.
"Besides South Africa, such countries as Congo, Ghana, Peru and Indonesia may bolster the position opposed to Ahtisaari's plan owing to our diplomatic efforts," Draskovic said.
He said a planned meeting of the Contact Group on Kosovo would spotlight an acute standoff between Washington and Brussels on one part and Moscow on the other.
However, the minister said he doubted Washington would dare to acknowledge Kosovo as an independent state without an appropriate UN Security Council resolution.
Nicholas Burns, U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs, said in late April that if the UN Security Council does not adopt a new resolution on Kosovo granting the province independence, the U.S. would unilaterally support a declaration by Kosovo's Albanian authorities on separation from Serbia.
The announcement met strong criticism from the Serbian government.
