Russian experts believe the West has decided to grant Kosovo independence despite objections from Russia and Serbia to the proposal, adding that Russia will veto a UN Security Council vote expected later Friday.

Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku said on Friday Kosovo should declare unilateral independence from Serbia on 28th November, arguing that a Western bid to steer its secession through the United Nations had failed.

Until now, the European Union has been a firm supporter of resolving the dispute over Kosovo's future status in the UN Security Council. But the EU seems to be acknowledging that this may prove impossible.

Veto-wielding Moscow will reject a new resolution of the UN Security Council, which proposes granting Kosovo independence without Serbia's consent, the Russian envoy to the UN said.

Once again the Western powers have attempted to find the right formula for compromise on Kosovo, and once again Russia has rejected it.

A new U.S.-backed U.N. draft resolution on Kosovo would only lead to the province's independence and was rejected by Serbia on Wednesday, state’s prime minister said.

Veterans of Kosovo's guerrilla war have said they are ready to take up arms again if the province is not granted independence from Serbia, RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages Service reported.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says any resolution on Kosovo that is not acceptable to both Belgrade and Pristina will not pass in the UN Security Council, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reported.

The United States and Russia remain far apart on the issue of Kosovo. In this report from Washington, senior correspondent André de Nesnera looks at the conflicting views.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed hope today that meetings between U.S. and Russian Presidents George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin will lead to a breakthrough over Kosovo's independence.

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer has asked Kosovo Albanians for "patience" in their quest for independence. Speaking after talks Friday with the province's Prime Minister Agim Ceku in the Kosovo capital, Pristina, de Hoop Scheffer said Western powers need more time to guide the independence process through the United Nations.

Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica says a new battle is being fought with the United States for control of Kosovo province. His comments Thursday came as hundreds of Serb hardliners marched in the contested province to commemorate the anniversary of a 600-year-old Serb battle of Kosovo with Ottoman Turks.