BRUSSELS, Belgium: Mounting tension over Kosovo's drive for independence and the West's increasingly strained relations with Russia are expected to dominate meetings of NATO foreign ministers this week, forcing Afghanistan from its customary place at the top of the alliance agenda.
Alliance ministers are expected Friday to announce a continued commitment to keep NATO's 16,000-strong peacekeeping force in Kosovo if, as expected, the territory's ethnic-Albanian majority declares independence from Serbia after Monday's deadline for an internationally negotiated agreement.
Diplomats at NATO headquarters were hopeful all 26 NATO nations will pledge not to withdraw their troops, despite deep concerns by some allies over Kosovo's separatist plans. They said the allies were likely to agree that the current U.N. mandate for the peacekeeping force will remain valid after any unilateral declaration of independence.
The Kosovo issue comes to a head on Monday when a team of mediators from Russia, the United States and the European Union reports to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on their efforts to broker a deal between Serbia and the Kosovo's ethnic-Albanian leadership.
The last round of talks collapsed in Austria last week and with little hope of a last minute deal, Kosovo's politicians say they will unilaterally declare independence. The province has been run by the United Nations, backed by NATO troops, since 1999 when a bombing campaign by allied warplanes ended a Serb crack down on the separatists.
Although both Serbs and Kosovo Albanians have pledged to avoid a return to violence, NATO says its troops are ready in case trouble flares. Thousands of extra troops are being held in reserve in case reinforcements are needed quickly.
"No violence will be tolerated," NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said before the ministers' year-end meeting. "Anyone who thinks violence might be a solution to the problem is wrong."
Despite misgivings from Slovakia, Romania, Spain and Greece, most NATO nations have backed a plan for internationally supervised statehood for Kosovo. Russia, however, strongly supports Serbia's staunch opposition to Kosovo's breakaway ambitions.
The dispute is one of a series of disagreements that have seen NATO-Russia relations decline sharply over the past year. Moscow plans to pull out of a key Cold War era arms agreement on Dec. 12 in part in response to U.S. plans to install anti-missile defenses in Poland and the Czech Republic.
Russia Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will join his NATO counterparts for part of the talks on Friday. He cranked up the rhetoric Wednesday, blaming the West for hampering efforts to find a solution in Kosovo by encouraging separatists and accusing the U.S. of going back on an offer to cooperate on missile defenses.
Afghanistan will feature on the agenda. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is expected to step up pressure on European allies to provide more troops for the NATO force of 41,000.
Ministers may also discuss plans to appoint a senior international representative to coordinate international military and civilian efforts to stabilize the country. Diplomats say Britain's Lord Paddy Ashdown — a former international representative in Bosnia — has been considered for the post, but stress a final decision must be taken by the U.N.
Ministers from Israel and six Arab nations are also scheduled to join the NATO talks to discuss cooperation in fighting terrorism and wider developments in the Middle East after the agreement in Annapolis, Maryland, last week to resume negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians.
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