(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-12-17 07:15

BELGRADE -- Serbian President Boris Tadic said on Sunday he expects that Russia, China and other UN Security Council members will support Belgrade's stand that the negotiations on the future status of Kosovo province should continue.

Serbia's President Boris Tadic speaks at a news conference after a meeting with Kosovo leaders at the European Council headquarters in Brussels November 20, 2007. [Agencies]

Tadic made the remark ahead of the UN Security Council session on Kosovo, set for December 19, although the West has said they would not agree with more talks after some two years of negotiations.

"I expect that this session will result several initiatives. One of them is the continuation of the negotiations, which is the determination of our state and our negotiating side. I expect that some other countries will also support such an initiative, primarily Russia, China, and some other Security Council members," Tadic was quoted by the official Tanjug news agency as saying.

Tadic said the fact that the session will be closed to the public indicates the importance of the question of Kosovo for the international legal and political order.

Kosovo, the independence-seeking province of Serbia, has been under UN administration since 1999. Kosovo's 90 percent Albanians majority insist on independence, but Serbia only agrees to offer substantial autonomy.

The latest four-month negotiations mediated by the troika of the United States, European Union (EU) and Russian envoys officially ended on December 10 without any result on the future status of Kosovo. The session on December 19 will debate the report by the troika.

Tadic, who heads the pro-Western Democratic Party, is running for re-election in a presidential election due on January 20. His main challenger will be Tomislav Nikolic, leader of the hardline nationalist Serbian Radical Party.

The EU officials have urged Kosovo Albanian leaders to refrain from declaring unilateral independence before Serbia's presidential election, in order to avoid the nationalist backlash which might be damaging to Tadic.

Kosovo Albanian leaders say there is no point in talking further with Serbia and are ready to declare independence before May in coordination with U.S. and EU backers.

"I will not accept any independence of Kosovo, not only because of the integrity of this country, but also because I am absolutely convinced that such a solution jeopardizes the development and future of the region of the Balkans and the Black Sea region, where there are many problems similar to that of Kosovo," Tadic said.