Serbia plans to adopt a set of retaliatory measures against Western states if they recognize Kosovo's independence, including the possibility of severing diplomatic ties with the United States and EU countries, officials said Tuesday. Belgrade also said it rejects the idea of an EU mission in Kosovo until the breakaway province's status is resolved. On Wednesday, the parliament will debate a strongly-worded resolution proposed by the government that will bind Serbian officials never to accept Kosovo's independence. Ethnic Albanians in Kosovo have pledged to proclaim independence early next year, and the U.S. and several EU states have indicated they would recognize it. Serbia, backed by Russia, insists that Kosovo, a province of 2 million people that is 90 percent ethnic Albanian, should remain part of its territory. The European Union agreed earlier this month to send an 1,800-member mission to Kosovo to replace the current system in the province, which has been run by the U.N. and NATO since the 1999 war between Serbs and separatist ethnic Albanians. But the Serbian government resolution, which will almost certainly be adopted by the nationalist-dominated parliament, said that the EU mission would not be welcome before Kosovo's final status is determined at the U.N. Security Council, where Russia could veto any decision not favorable to Belgrade. «The sending of the proposed EU mission ... would be an act which jeopardizes the sovereignty, territorial integrity and the constitution of the Republic of Serbia,» according to a copy of the draft resolution made available to the Associated Press. Russia has opposed the new EU mission without Belgrade's consent.
