Serbia outraged by Bush's latest words of support for Kosovo independence

Serbia was outraged by the United States' support for an independent Kosovo after President Bush said that there could not be endless dialogue on the matter, Serbia's prime minister announced.

In a strongly worded statement broadcast Monday on national television, Vojislav Kostunica blasted what he termed "U.S. affection and love" toward Kosovo Albanians who are seeking to split from Serbia.

"America must find another way to show its affection and love for the Albanians, without offering them Serb territories," Kostunica said. "Serbia is rightfully outraged at the American policies on the issue of Kosovo."

Kostunica repeated that Serbia will never recognize any form of independence for its cherished southern province.

The prime minister's comments were in response to Bush's press for Kosovo statehood during his stop in Albania on Sunday.

Bush said there cannot be endless dialogue about achieving independence for Kosovo.

"At some point in time - sooner rather than later - you've got to say 'Enough is enough. Kosovo is independent' and that's the position we've taken," Bush said at a news conference on Sunday.

Serbia's breakaway southern province has been a U.N. protectorate since the end of the war between Serb forces and ethnic Albanian rebels in 1999. Efforts to resolve its formal status resulted in a U.N. plan for internationally supervised independence.

Russia, siding with Serbia's bid to keep Kosovo at least formally within its boundaries, opposes the plan, while the U.S. and the European Union support it.

The U.S. is pushing for a vote in the U.N. Security Council that would pave the way for the plan's implementation.

Washington has warned that further delays in defining the status of Kosovo could re-ignite violence in the Balkans.

Kostunica said "America made a big enough mistake" with the NATO bombing campaign in 1999 that ended the Serb crackdown in Kosovo.

"A new mistake in the form of one-sided support for Kosovo independence would present a new injustice and bullying that the Serb people would never forget," he said.

Kostunica said that "Serbia will reject and annul any form of independence for its southern province."

"There will never be an independent Kosovo for Serbia," he said.