BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union countries on Monday urged Serbia's breakaway Kosovo not to rush into a declaration of independence, with its backers insisting any such move should be coordinated internationally.
Former guerrilla Hashim Thaci, who is expected to become prime minister of the majority ethnic Albanian province after Saturday's election, said parliament would declare independence after a December 10 deadline for international mediation efforts.
The United States backs independence for Kosovo, but the EU is divided on the issue. Some EU member states are reluctant to support any such move without the blessing of the United Nations or at least broad international support.
"Kosovo should have her independence (but) it shouldn't be an unmanaged unilateral declaration. It should be one that is coordinated with the international community," British Europe Minister Jim Murphy told reporters, arriving for an EU meeting.
Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik said Thaci's call was not a surprise but urged Kosovo Albanians and Serbs not to exacerbate their already growing tensions.
"The EU has asked all parties in this climate to behave carefully. That applies to both Belgrade and Pristina."
Wolfgang Ischinger, a German diplomat leading mediation alongside U.S. and Russian officials, is due to meet Serb and Kosovo Albanian leaders in Brussels on Tuesday.
Few participants hold out much hope of a breakthrough. A mass boycott of Saturday's parliamentary elections by Kosovo Serbs -- in protest against the wide support for independence among Kosovo Albanian politicians -- underlined the divide.
"We have explored almost every humanly known option for squaring the circle of the Kosovo status issue," Ischinger told a breakfast conference in Brussels.
