Russia criticizes West over Kosovo

MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- Russia has criticized western powers for encouraging Kosovo's ambitions for independence, saying the situation in the Balkans could evolve in to an "uncontrollable crisis."

Kosovo is expected to declare independence from Serbia some time in the new year.

The United States and most European countries have backed self-determination for the province in principle.

Russia supports the position of Serbia, however, which insists the region should remain autonomous within its borders.

In a statement published Monday, Russia's foreign ministry said the debate over Kosovo's future status had reached "a critical point."

The ministry warned against a unilateral declaration of independence by the province, which it said would violate an existing U.N. security resolution.

"The situation could evolve into an uncontrollable crisis, if the settlement is not kept within the international legal framework," the statement said.

The statement also explicitly criticized the United States and the EU for encouraging Kosovo's "separatist aspirations."

Following an EU summit in Brussels last week, European leaders agreed to send an 1,800-strong security force to maintain stability in the province.

The police and security force is expected to be deployed to the Balkan state ahead of an announcement of independence.

In comments published in USA Today last week, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Russia must accept that "Serbia and Kosovo are never going to be one again."

However, Russia claims that allowing Kosovo independence could set a dangerous precedent to other separatist groups around the world. Russia has been involved in a long-running and violent battle with insurgents seeking independence in Chechnya.

Two years of negotiations on the future status of Kosovo ended in failure last week, when talks mediated by Europe, the United States and Russia could not agree a solution.

The disputed province is dear to the Serbs, Orthodox Christians who regard it as Serbian territory. But it is equally coveted by Kosovo's ethnic Albanians, Muslims who have a 90 percent majority.

Since 1999 the United Nations has been running the province with NATO peacekeepers, who still number 16,000. E-mail to a friend