Serbia said on Monday it had "fundamental objections" to a 14-point framework for the future of Kosovo and insisted mediators explicitly rule out a unilateral declaration of independence by the province.

Serbia has announced a reward of more than $1 million for information leading to the capture of fugitive war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic.

The 15-nation UN Security Council once again failed to agree on a possible plan of action if negotiations between Serbia and its breakaway province of Kosovo produce no result by December 10.

Leaders of Serbia's breakaway Kosovo province have urged residents to refrain from violence after a public television station showed armed members of a banned ethnic-Albanian militant group.

An opinion poll says that as many as 41% of Serbs would rather keep the Kosovo province within the country than join the European Union. A total of 1630 Serbian citizens took part in the survey, conducted by the Centre for Free Elections and Democracy (CeSID) in early September.

The U.N. secretary general said in a report Monday that delays in resolving Kosovo's status could undermine the work of the U.N. in the province and even make it instable.

Serbia and its breakaway province of Kosovo held the first round of their first direct talks Friday with international mediators participating but failed to reach any agreement.

Members of the international contact group on Kosovo Thursday urged parties to the dispute to engage in serious and constructive talks as negotiations on the region's final status enter their final stage with a December 10 deadline looming. Serbia warned at the U.N. that an independence move by Kosovo would destabilize the world.

Belgrade and Pristina should be given more time if they fail to reach an agreement on Kosovo by December 10, when the UN is due to deliver a report on the province, a Russian Foreign Ministry official said Wednesday.

European Union foreign ministers are seeking a united position on Kosovo in discussions on the future of the disputed Serbian province today at a meeting in Portugal.

Representatives from Serbia and Kosovo will hold direct talks without mediators in New York on September 28 within the framework of the UN General Assembly session, a Russian diplomat said Thursday.

In recent days, Serbian officials have offered mixed messages about how Serbia would react if Kosovo declared independence. Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic told London's "Financial Times" that Serbia would not threaten military action, although he said a declaration of independence by Kosovo would open a "Pandora's box" in the region.