(Releads, edits) By Ellie Tzortzi BELGRADE, Feb 14 (Reuters) - In a show of political unity, all main Serbian parties on Wednesday rejected a United Nations proposal that would put the country's breakaway province of Kosovo on the road to independence this year. A parliamentary resolution endorsed by 225 deputies in the 250-seat assembly rejected key aspects of the plan which "violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity" of Serbia in order to give statehood to Kosovo's 90 percent Albanian majority. The resolution said "imposed independence" would have unforeseeable consequences. It would destabilise the Balkans and create "an exceptionally dangerous precedent for resolving minority issues and territorial disputes" worldwide. It was the first act of Serbia's new parliament in its maiden session following inconclusive elections on Jan. 21 which left the country struggling to form a new coalition, as the West pushes for a final solution to the problem of Kosovo in the coming months."We must defend Kosovo and we'll defend it in talks as long as there is any sense in talking," said Tomislav Nikolic, deputy head of the ultranationalist Radical Party, Serbia's strongest. Kosovo's 2 million Albanians have demanded their own state since 1999, when NATO bombing drove out the forces of late Serb autocrat Slobodan Milosevic to stop ethnic cleansing in a war against separatist guerrillas. The U.N. has run Kosovo since. "This is not the Serbia of Milosevic," said Bozidar Djelic, prime ministerial candidate of the Democratic Party in coalition negotiations that could take weeks to bear fruit. "We want Serbia to be part of the European Union, part of the world. But we cannot do anything else but defend the unity of our motherland, in particular Kosovo." Most analysts said Wednesday's motion, whose adoption was a foregone conclusion, was a device to paper over cracks and ensure all parties took responsibility for the impending loss of a province that is steeped in Serb history. RUSSIAN OBJECTION The plan formally unveiled by United Nations envoy Martti Ahtisaari on Feb. 2 after a year of fruitless mediation will give Kosovo a path of independence under EU supervision. Ahtisaari wants both sides to return to Vienna this month for a last-ditch series of talks, but expects no breakthrough. The Serbian parliament session authorised a negotiating team to attend further meetings with Kosovo Albanian leaders, but not to conclude any agreement without parliament's formal accord. Ahtisaari expects Kosovo to declare independence later this year, in late August or September, and quickly win recognition. Western diplomats have said for months that the United States and its European allies would open relations. But Russia, which could veto a U.N. Security Council resolution on Kosovo's status, has warned repeatedly it will not support a settlement that does not have the assent of Serbia as well as the Kosovo Albanians. Former U.S. ambassador to Serbia William Montgomery said ahead of Wednesday's session that Serbian leaders trying to "save" Kosovo were convinced their only hope was to close ranks and display total unity in order to ensure Russian support. But the unity on Wednesday was only skin-deep. The Democratic Party of President Boris Tadic, which is expected to lead Serbia's next coalition government, has as good as admitted to Serbs that Kosovo may already be a lost cause. Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, whose support for a coalition is indispensable, has taken a far harder line, effectively challenging Tadic to promise to curtail diplomatic relations with any country that recognises an independent Kosovo. Montgomery said Wednesday's vote was intended to share the blame by making all parties swear an oath of loyalty which would make "traitors" of any Serbian political party which concedes independence, even if the outcome is now inevitable. (Additional reporting by Beti Bilandzic)
