The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Pristina

Kosovo's leaders said Monday they would start immediate talks on independence from Serbia and EU nations backed their cause as a UN deadline for a negotiated settlement passed.

"From today, Kosovo is starting intense consultations with its international partners with the aim of coordinating steps for declaring independence, and the official demands for recognising independence," said Skender Hyseni of the Kosovo Albanian negotiating team.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned of a "chain reaction" from any independence move but European Union foreign ministers said they were close to reaching a united stance on recognising independence.

The United Nations had set a December 10 deadline for talks between Kosovo and Serbia which the EU, Russia and the United States tried to mediate.

The spokesman for the Kosovo Albanian negotiating team said not date had yet been chosen for an independence proclamation.

"There is no fixed deadline. Kosovo is certainly not going to wait too long because it has been waiting for eight years to clarify its status," he added.

Kosovo has been run by the United Nations since 1999, when NATO bombing ended a deadly Serbian crackdown on separatist ethnic Albanian guerrillas and their civilian supporters.