Russian President Vladimir Putin says the Kremlin's opposition to independence for Kosovo is based on international law and a desire for regional stability.

Serbia’s prime minister Vojislav Kostunica said Monday that ties between the U.S. and the European country are worsening because of American support of Kosovo’s independence.

Serbia is ready for a "compromise" over Kosovo but warned that the independence for the breakaway province could destabilize Europe.

Russia has rejected a revised UN Security Council resolution that would delay independence for Kosovo to give the province's ethnic Albanian majority and Serbs more time to negotiate the future status of the Serbian territory.

Russian envoy at the United Nations Vitaly Churkin said Wednesday Moscow will not participate in discussions over the new draft resolution on Kosovo.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried has reaffirmed the Bush administration's position that Serbia's breakaway province of Kosovo must be granted independence.

Italian Foreign Minister Massimo d'Alema says that Serbia and leaders of Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority should resume talks on the future status of the breakaway Serbian province, but only for a limited time.

Unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo could lead to the destabilization of the Balkans, a senior Bulgarian government official said Thursday.

Russia condemned Wednesday the launch of talks on a settlement plan for Kosovo without Moscow's participation, and suggested that Western nations are attempting to "unilaterally" push through an independence plan for the region.

Despite continuing international disagreement whether to give Kosovo independence, province's government on Wednesday launched a contest for a new flag and national anthem.

U.S. President George W. Bush said during his visit to the Albanian capital Tirana on June 10 that Kosovo must have independence and it must happen soon. He reiterated his position today, as he wrapped up his European tour in Bulgaria. "The time is now to move the Ahtisaari plan," he said. "America believes that Kosovo ought to be independent."

U.S. President George W. Bush welcomed NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer to his Texas ranch on May 21, where the two men discussed a range of issues, including the war in Afghanistan, Kosovo's final status, and NATO enlargement.