Russia's deputy foreign minister to meet with Kosovo officials

A senior Russian diplomat will meet with Kosovo officials Thursday, as U.N.-mediated talks to determine this disputed province's future enter a critical phase.

Photo: Russia's deputy foreign minister to meet with Kosovo officials

Vladimir Titov, Russia's deputy foreign minister, will meet with top U.N. officials and Kosovo's president, just a few days after ethnic Albanian's and Serbs held their fifth round of talks in Vienna, Austria.

The U.N.-mediators are trying to determine whether Kosovo should become independent or remain part of Serbia by the end of 2006. Western officials have insisted that the Kosovo's case is unique, while those from Russia say that whatever solution is found for Kosovo will have a universal character, applicable in similar conflicts worldwide.

Kosovo has been run by the United Nations since mid-1999, when a NATO air war halted a Serb crackdown on separatist ethnic Albanians fighting for independence, and forced Belgrade to relinquish control of the province, reports the AP.

I.L.