independence' VIENNA, Dec 6, SPA -- Kosovo's independence isinevitable, and statehood for the breakaway Serbianprovince remains «the only realistic solution,» ap quoted a deputyU.N. special envoy as saying Thursday. «Nobody can prevent the independence of Kosovo,»Austrian diplomat Albert Rohan, deputy to special envoyMartti Ahtisaari, told the daily Die Presse in an interviewto be published Friday. Rohan said a plan drafted earlier this year by Ahtisaari _which had recommended internationally supervisedindependence _ was the best compromise, and he warned thatfurther delays could «dangerously destabilize» theBalkans. «Whoever causes that must take responsibility,» thenewspaper quoted Rohan as saying. «Every voice in theEuropean Union that speaks out in favor of unrealisticoptions or delaying a decision strengthens Serbia'sresistance and Russia's position.» The Ahtisaari plan collapsed earlier this year afterRussia, an ally of Serbia, threatened to veto it at theU.N. Security Council. Serbia has offered Kosovo broad autonomy, but insists theprovince remain part of Serbian territory. Kosovo's ethnicAlbanian majority demands full independence. The stalemate over the Ahtisaari plan led to four monthsof internationally mediated negotiations that ended lastweek with the rival sides still deadlocked. A «troika» of envoys from the U.S., EU and Russia mustreport back to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon by Dec. 10. Although formally a part of Serbia, Kosovo has been underU.N. and NATO administration since 1999, when NATOairstrikes ended former Yugoslav President SlobodanMilosevic's crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists. At a luncheon Wednesday with editors of The AssociatedPress in New York, Ban said he would look to the SecurityCouncil for guidance because the troika report «is highlylikely to say (the rival sides) have not been able toagree.» Meanwhile in Belgrade on Thursday, Serbian Prime MinisterVojislav Kostunica accused the United States and NATO ofwanting to create «a puppet state» in Kosovo. He toldSerbia's state Tanjug news agency that Kosovo «will alwaysbe an integral and inseparable part of Serbia,» despitelikely U.S. recognition of the breakaway province. Kosovo's leaders have vowed to declare independenceunilaterally _ possibly early in 2008 _ if the U.N. doesnot sign off on statehood. Rohan said he doubted that a unilateral independencedeclaration would come before year's end. He said Kosovo's leaders first would have to ensure thatthe vast majority of EU member states would recognize itbefore it proclaims statehood. Kosovo officials havepledged to coordinate any move with the U.S. and the EU,and a declaration before Serbia's presidential elections _tentatively scheduled for Jan. 20 _ appeared unlikely. Although many EU nations have said they would do so, theholdouts include Slovakia, Spain, Greece, Cyprus andRomania, which fear a unilateral independence declarationwould set a dangerous precedent for separatist movementsworldwide. «But I still believe that Kosovo will become independentin the first quarter of next year,» Rohan said. --SPA www.spa.gov.sa/506734