Serbia considers Kosovo partition

A senior Serbian government official has said she would accept a partition of Kosovo if no other long-term solution can be found.

The president of Serbia's Co-ordination Centre for Kosovo, Sanda Raskovic-Ivic, also said no Serb leader would ever sign a deal giving Kosovo independence.

She said Belgrade's policy was for Kosovo province to have substantial autonomy within the Serbian state.

Kosovo is technically part of Serbia but has been run by the UN since 1999.

The vast majority of Kosovo's population are ethnic Albanian who have been pressing for independence.

Kosovo's Prime Minister Agim Ceku has ruled out partition as an option and the international community has said it does not want to see the province's boundaries changed.

UN-brokered talks on the future of the province have so far brought no breakthrough.