At a UN Security Council session on Wednesday, the United States rejected Russia's proposal to continue talks over the future status of Serbia's predominantly Albanian province.
Mikhail Margelov, chairman of the Federation Council's international affairs committee, told RIA Novosti: "Washington has repeatedly highlighted the unique nature of the Kosovo case, but no one has bothered to explain exactly what that means. What sets Kosovo apart from Northern Cyprus, South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Northern Ireland, and many other ethnic and religious enclaves scattered throughout the world?"
The senator said there will be nothing to prevent these regions from demanding independence according to the Kosovo scenario.
"Evidently, American diplomacy forgets that with Washington's support and connivance, Pristina is blocking all initiatives by the international community," Margelov said.
The UN official deadline for an agreement between Belgrade and Pristina on Kosovo ran out Monday, and the province's leaders have said they intend to unilaterally declare independence early in 2008. The United States and leading EU powers have said they will recognize Kosovo's independence when a declaration is made.
However, Russia has warned of a chain reaction if the province breaks away from Serbia, causing other separatist regions, including those in the former Soviet Union, to follow suit.
The Contact Group's troika of mediators - Russia, the United States and the European Union - submitted to the UN Security Council and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon a report on December 10 saying that the parties had failed to reach an agreement after "120 days of intensive negotiations."
At the latest talks in Austria in late November, Pristina continued to insist on full independence, while Belgrade was only willing to offer the province wide autonomy.
Kosovo has been a UN protectorate since 1999, when NATO's bombing of the former Yugoslavia ended a war between Serb forces and ethnic Albanians.
