"It is important to be as inclusive as possible with Russia, although that does not necessarily mean as comprehensive as possible," an EU diplomat said, according to AFP news service.

Russia is a long-time ally of Serbia and both believe that not enough time has been given to talks on how much autonomy Kosovo should win, which started almost a year ago but were halted in October for lack of progress.

Kosovo Albanians insist they will accept nothing short of independence, but Belgrade is offering only "broad autonomy," saying it would never accept secession.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana "has been in touch with all levels in Russia" including President Vladimir Putin, another EU official told AFP, also on condition of anonymity.

"We are doing as much as possible to ensure that this period, which is not going to be easy, is developing as smoothly as possible," she said.

Making the deal acceptable to Belgrade

Reports quoting a Serbian government statement said that Putin had promised to veto any initiative in the UN Security Council which Belgrade rejects during a telephone call with Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica.

Kosovo, defined by Serbia's constitution as an integral part of its territory, has been run by the United Nations since 1999, when a NATO bombing campaign ended a crackdown by Belgrade on separatist ethnic Albanians there.

UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari had been expected to make proposals on Kosovo's future status late last year, but he has pushed back publication of his recommendations until after elections in Serbia on Sunday.

To accommodate Russia, the EU has offered its support to a proposal of new talks in Vienna, perhaps in March, between Kosovo and Serbian authorities and led by Ahtisaari.

"This engagement can be very positive," the EU official said.

The talks could run anywhere from two weeks to a month.

Irreconcilable differences

According to an International Crisis Group expert, they would address Russia's concerns but at the same time demonstrate publicly that the parties are too far apart for their differences to be resolved soon.

"This is an attempt to get around what is likely to be a significant blockage at the Security Council," said Kosovo-based analyst for the think tank Alexander Anderson.

Despite Albanian cries for full independence and Serbia's refusal to offer anything more than autonomy, experts say that Ahtisaari's proposals will most likely involve a broad, non-specific formula that the United Nations will tease out into a clearer degree of autonomy to be introduced over a reasonably long period.

"I think there is no other solution than to find a status somewhere between wider autonomy and a programmed independence," said Bernard Kouchner, former head of the UN's Kosovo mission.

A hot election topic

The future of Kosovo has figured prominently in election campaigning and may even influence how long it takes Sunday's winner to form a new government.

Yet most of the players in Serbian politics -- ranging from the ultra-nationalist Radical Party to Kostunica's Democratic Party of Serbia and Serbian president Boris Tadic's Democratic Party -- seem to agree in principle that Kosovo should not become an independent country.

The most notable exception is a coalition lead by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

"We have to accept the reality," said LDP president and former student leader Cedomir Jovanovic, "and the reality is that Kosovo has been independent from Belgrade since 1999."

LDP, however, is a small player on the Serbian political scene and, according to some polls, may barely win the 5 percent of votes necessary to enter the parliament.

Time is running out

If a solution to Kosovo's status is not found in the nearest future, the tensions that have regularly surfaced in Kosovo over the last seven years could mount again.

The worst case was in March 2004, when several days of anti-Serb riots left 19 people dead, thousands more homeless, and dozens of Serbian Orthodox monasteries and churches destroyed or damaged.

Responsibility for Kosovo's future security will fall mostly into the hands of the 27-nation European Union.