An adviser to Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica has urged NATO to abandon a United Nations plan for the future status of Kosovo.
The prime minister's media adviser, Srdjan Djuric, told reporters in Belgrade Saturday that as long as the alliance supports U.N. envoy Martti Ahtisaari's proposal, it is clear that the U.N. plans to create its first NATO state in the breakaway province.
Ahtisaari's plan envisions internationally supervised independence for Kosovo, which Belgrade adamantly rejects.
Djuric said Serbia has not yet had any assurances from NATO that the pact will respect Serbia's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
A spokesman for NATO in Brussels (Carmen Romero) has denied allegations by some Serbian politicians that the alliance plans to create a puppet-state in the Balkans.
A spokesman for NATO-led forces in Kosovo (Michael Knop) has said Serbian security forces will not be permitted to return to the province.
Serbia's southern province has been under U.N. administration since 1999. Some 16,000 NATO-led international peacekeepers are deployed there. Serbia is a member of NATO's Partnership for Peace program, which is the first step toward membership in the alliance.
Some information for this report provided by AP.
