By Matt Robinson PRISTINA, Serbia, Feb 15 (Reuters) - NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer appealed to Serbia on Thursday to engage constructively in a United Nations-led process leading to independence for its Albanian-dominated province of Kosovo. His call came after Serbia's parliament rejected a plan unveiled on Feb. 2 by U.N. envoy Martti Ahtisaari setting Kosovo -- Serbia's religious cradle -- on the path to statehood. "This decision will only strengthen my call to all parties, including Serbia, to work on the basis of the Ahtisaari proposals in a constructive way, because there really is no alternative," he told reporters. "The world is watching very carefully what kind of messages come from Kosovo, how mature the Kosovo institutions, the Kosovo citizens are to shape their own future," de Hoop Scheffer said. "You'll be heard, you'll be seen, you'll be watched." The alliance chief said he would be visiting Serbia soon to press the point. He gave no date. NATO leads 16,500 soldiers from 38 nations in Kosovo, down from 50,000 when the alliance entered in June 1999 after an 11-week bombing campaign to drive out Serb forces accused of killing Albanian civilians in a two-year counter-insurgency war. Ahtisaari's plan would clear the decks for the 90 percent Albanian majority to declare independence, after eight years as a de facto U.N. protectorate. It must be adopted by the U.N. Security Council, and so far has the backing of the United States and the European Union. It provides for strict EU supervision and extensive protections for the Serb minority. But Serbs adamantly oppose independence and Russia, which has repeatedly said it will not support a settlement that does not have the assent of Serbia, expressed doubts on Thursday about the plan. Russia could veto a U.N. Security Council resolution. The Serbian parliamentary vote mandated Serb negotiators for final-round talks with Kosovo Albanians beginning next week, although Ahtisaari strongly doubts any compromise can be found. He hopes to submit his settlement solution to the U.N. Security Council by late March. He has estimated that Kosovo could be declaring independence by September and receiving recognition from the West. NATO has already pledged to keep troop levels unchanged throughout Kosovo's transition and into 2008. Weekend clashes between police and Albanians protesting against the plan -- which some say will only prolong Kosovo's limbo status -- killed two and underscored Western fears of unrest if a decision on independence does not come soon.
