Serbia ready for extreme measures in case of Kosovo independence

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Serbian government has adopted a secret plan to implement "in case of a unilateral declaration of independence" by the Albanian majority of the breakaway Kosovo province, it said on Monday.



With Western backing, Kosovo's 90 percent Albanians are preparing to declare independence in coming months despite objections from Serbia, which offers the province autonomy in all matters but rejects any change of borders.



The Serbian government said in a statement it adopted the contingency plan at an extraordinary cabinet meeting on Monday.



"The document that was adopted is an expression of the state's united policy towards Kosovo," read the statement.



Details of the plan were kept secret. But information leaked in the three months since the plan was first drafted point to several measures, including cutting off electricity supplies and blocking power routes for the province, which buys 40 percent of its power from Serbia, as well as a trade and goods embargo.



Serbia could also refuse to recognize Kosovo passports and force travelers to make a long detour to get to Western Europe. It might also withdraw its ambassadors from countries that recognize Kosovo as an independent state.



A government source said that the plan contained a series of measures for each ministry, including preparations for a possible influx of refugees from the ethnic Serb minority.



"This is mostly posturing, a show of determination, it doesn't mean that any of these measures will be implemented," the source said on condition of anonymity, Reuters reports.



Kosovo has been run by the United Nations since 1999, when NATO bombed to drive out Serb forces and halt the killing of Albanian civilians in a two-year counter-insurgency war. Serbia insists only the U.N. may determine Kosovo's future and has relied on Russia, a veto holder in the Security Council, to block UN recognition.