( RIA Novosti ) - European Union leaders will discuss the status of Kosovo at the 27-nation bloc's summit in Brussels on December 14, a Portuguese minister said on Wednesday.
The UN deadline for an agreement on the future status of Kosovo ran out on Monday, and leaders of the predominantly Albanian province have pledged to declare independence early next year.
Manuel Lobo Antunes, the secretary of state for European affairs of Portugal, which currently holds the rotating presidency, said the Council of Europe would discuss possible roles that the EU could play in finding a solution to the status of Kosovo, as well as means of maintaining regional stability and security.
Portuguese Foreign Minister Louis Amadu earlier said the EU has so far failed to reach a consensus on the status of Kosovo, and that it will take some time before a decision on such a sensitive issue can be reached.
On Monday, EU foreign ministers agreed to deploy a 1,600-strong police and justice mission to Kosovo, which would replace the UN mission in the province.
Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said on Tuesday that EU leaders should bear in mind Serbia's position, "that it is completely unacceptable and an insult to the dignity of Serbia to offer a trade-off for the unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo," according to Serbian state news agency Tanjug.
"Our message to the European Union is that Serbia must be respected in the same way as any other free and sovereign state, which at any rate means that the European Union has to fully observe the internationally recognized borders of our country," Kostunica said.
Serbia "rejects in advance such an illegal decision" as sending an EU Mission, the premier said.
Russia, Serbia's traditional ally, has repeatedly warned that independence for Kosovo could lead to a domino effect, causing other separatist regions to unilaterally announce independence. Moscow insists that dialogue continue between Belgrade and Pristina on the status of the Kosovo province.
The Contact Group's troika of mediators - Russia, the United States and the European Union - submitted to the UN Security Council and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon a report on December 10 saying that the parties had failed to reach an agreement after "120 days of intensive negotiations."
At the latest talks in Austria in late November, Pristina continued to insist on full independence, while Belgrade was only willing to offer the province broad autonomy.