Serbian President Boris Tadic Wednesday called on members of the UN Security Council to boycott the unilateral declaration of Kosovo's independence by ethnic Albanian leaders.

 

Tadic said the related Security Council resolution guarantees the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia, and called on the Council to prevent the encouragement and the adoption of a unilateral act on the independence of Kosovo.

 

"We must make every effort to solve the misunderstandings and conflicts in our part of Europe peacefully and by agreement only, not by making unilateral moves," he said.

 

The UN Security Council held consultations last month on the future status of the Serbian province of Kosovo with no conclusions due to major differences among the parties.

 

Kosovo has been run by the UN mission since NATO bombing forced the pullout of the Serbian troops from the ethnic Albanian dominated province in 1999.

 

Following failed talks between Belgrade and Pristina on the future status of the province, Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leaders have pledged to unilaterally declare independence in early 2008, but the move is unlikely before presidential elections in Serbia.

 

The United States and a number of European countries are expected to recognize Kosovo's independence, but Serbia and its ally Russia said they would oppose any such move.

 

(Xinhua News Agency January 17, 2008)