We regret to have to establish that it was impossible to secure support for such a resolution, so are therefore putting the debate on hold, the French ambassador to the UN, Jean Marc Sabaliere, said after today's Security Council consultations on behalf of the US, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Belgium, which moved the draft resolution.
He reiterated the US-European support for UN mediator Martti Ahtisaari's plan for supervised independence for Kosovo, underlining that this plan should be the foundation of every future debate.
US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said the new Belgrade-Pristina negotiations under the aegis of the Contact Group (US, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, France, Russia) were expected to last 120 days, as envisaged by the draft resolution which Russia threatened to veto.
None of those who moved the draft said what would happen if the new negotiations failed.