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Kosovo troika completes work on status report

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The troika of international mediators on Kosovo - Russia, the United States and the European Union - has completed its status report on the province, Russia's representative said on Tuesday.
VIENNA, December 4 (RIA Novosti) - The troika of international mediators on Kosovo - Russia, the United States and the European Union - has completed its status report on the province, Russia's representative said on Tuesday.

"In my opinion it is a neutral document. We believe that the UN Security Council will consider the report objectively and will hold an objective discussion based [on the report]," Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko said.

The document is to be submitted to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon by December 10, set by the UN as a deadline for the parties to reach an agreement.

Kosovo has repeatedly said it will unilaterally declare independence if the UN fails to give its approval, while Serbia has warned it may impose an economic blockade on the small impoverished region if Kosovo Albanians carry out their threat.

The latest round of negotiations, held in Austria last week, failed to break the long-running deadlock over the province's status. The talks on the Albanian-dominated province's status between Belgrade and Pristina saw Kosovo continue to insist on full independence with Serbia offering broad autonomy.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Serbian Foreign Ministry submitted to the country's government a plan of action in the event of Albanian authorities declaring unilateral independence for Kosovo.

"I hope these measures will not be taken, as I expect the international community to understand that a compromise will only secure stability in the region," Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said.

Kosovo's drive for independence is backed by the U.S. and some European nations, while Russia, Serbia's long-time ally, has repeatedly warned that independence would serve as a precedent and could have a knock-on effect, provoking instability in other secessionist territories, including those in the former Soviet Union.

Kosovo has been a UN protectorate since 1999, when NATO's bombing of the former Yugoslavia ended a bloody war between Serb forces and ethnic Albanians in the region.

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