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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| UN Kosovo vote plan put on hold | UN Kosovo vote plan put on hold |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| The US and its European allies have put on hold plans for a UN Security Council resolution on Kosovo's future after encountering Russian opposition. | The US and its European allies have put on hold plans for a UN Security Council resolution on Kosovo's future after encountering Russian opposition. |
| French Ambassador Jean-Marc de la Sabliere said discussions would now be renewed outside the UN. | French Ambassador Jean-Marc de la Sabliere said discussions would now be renewed outside the UN. |
| Russia has vowed to veto a draft resolution that would give Kosovo "supervised independence" - based on recommendations of a UN envoy. | Russia has vowed to veto a draft resolution that would give Kosovo "supervised independence" - based on recommendations of a UN envoy. |
| Kosovo - currently part of Serbia - has been governed by the UN since 1999. | Kosovo - currently part of Serbia - has been governed by the UN since 1999. |
| The province's ethnic Albanian majority wants independence but its minority Serbs - and the government in Belgrade - oppose this. | The province's ethnic Albanian majority wants independence but its minority Serbs - and the government in Belgrade - oppose this. |
| Russia has promised to represent the views of its ally, Serbia, at the UN Security Council, where it holds the power to veto resolutions. | Russia has promised to represent the views of its ally, Serbia, at the UN Security Council, where it holds the power to veto resolutions. |
| 'High drama' | 'High drama' |
| The French ambassador to the UN said on Friday that it had been impossible to reach agreement on a draft resolution in the Security Council. | The French ambassador to the UN said on Friday that it had been impossible to reach agreement on a draft resolution in the Security Council. |
| "We will therefore put on hold discussions on the resolution," he said. | |
| France is currently holding the rotating presidency of the Security Council. | |
| Mr de la Sabliere said an agreement on Kosovo would now be pursued through the Contact Group - a body consisting of the US, France, Germany, the UK, Italy and Russia. | |
| He added that the issue had to be resolved "as soon as possible" and that the UN plan remained the best way forward. | |
| No member of the Contact Group has the right to exercise a veto on decisions. | No member of the Contact Group has the right to exercise a veto on decisions. |
| Asked why the draft resolution was not put to a Security Council vote, UK envoy to the UN Emyr Jones Parry, said: "We don't want high drama which might have a consequence in the region. We have got to be responsible." | Asked why the draft resolution was not put to a Security Council vote, UK envoy to the UN Emyr Jones Parry, said: "We don't want high drama which might have a consequence in the region. We have got to be responsible." |
| Kosovo came under UN administration after the withdrawal of Serbian forces in 1999. | |
| The Serbian pull-out came after Nato air raids, launched to halt a Serb crackdown on ethnic Albanians, some of whom had taken up arms. |