UN Security Council fails to break deadlock over Kosovo

PanARMENIAN.Net - The UN Security Council failed on Thursday to break a long-standing deadlock over Kosovo despite a last-ditch effort by Russia and Serbia to prevent the Serbian province from declaring independence.



The 15-nation council met behind closed doors at the request of Serbia. However, only 5 permanent members supported Kosovo's independence, Russian UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin said.



He also slammed Kosovo's independence as "a blatant breach of international law" and voiced concern about the risk of renewed interethnic violence in the province and the Balkans as a whole.



The UN Security Council President, Panama's Ricardo Alberto Arias said Kosovo became a European problem, the UN news center reports.



The Serbian government on Thursday denounced any unilateral declaration of Kosovo's independence - expected within days - as "invalid and void". Serbia's Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said his country will not tolerate existence of a "puppet state" on its territory.



Belgrade's ally Moscow also warns against creation of a dangerous precedent in the international politics.