On Monday, the European Union, the United States and Russia are due to inform the UN Secretary-General that attempts to find a negotiated solution to the future status of Kosovo have failed.

The government of Kosovo, which is still formally a part of Serbia has been a United Nations protectorate since 1999, has already said they will unilaterally declare independence from Serbia.

Alliance ministers are expected to announce a continued commitment to keep NATO's 16,000-strong KFOR peacekeeping force in Kosovo, if this happens. But Slovakia, Romania, Spain and Greece have expressed their misgivings to these plans.

"We are expecting topics A, B and C to be: Kosovo, Kosovo, Kosovo," a senior US official said.

NATO drawing up contingency plans for Kosovo

Belgrade, which enjoys Russian support within the UN Security Council, is strongly opposed to the plans of the Kosovar leadership to declare independence. In 1999, a NATO bombing campaign stopped Serbia's ethnic cleansing of Kosovo, whose 2.2 million people are 90 per cent ethnic Albanian.

In recent weeks, Alliance commanders have been busy drawing up contingency plans should the situation degenerate once independence is proclaimed. Thousands of extra troops are being held in reserve in case reinforcements are needed quickly.

The gathering, which will also include a NATO-Russia Council meeting, means ministers will also have to tackle the issue of growing strains with Russia over its withdrawal from the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty and the US missile shield system.

A law signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin suspending Russia's participation in what is frequently described as a cornerstone treaty of European security comes into force on Sunday, Nov.9.

Meanwhile, the US is continuing with its project to set up an anti-Iran missile defence shield in central Europe, one of the reasons Russia gave for suspending the CFE.

Russia a factor in all three issues

NATO officials insist that the three sticky issues on this week's agenda should be dealt with separately. But Russia features in all of them.

The meeting, which begins with a dinner on Thursday evening attended by EU and NATO ministers, will offer an opportunity for officials to discuss US plans to locate missile defence bases in Poland and the Czech Republic. The plan has divided opinion across Europe.

That issue, too, will be discussed during Friday's NATO-Russia Council meeting, which is to be attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Would-be NATO members Croatia, Albania and Macedonia are set to be informed that despite making great progress on reforms, they must do more if they are to be invited into the alliance at a summit in Bucharest in April 2008, diplomats said.