Serbia warns EU of "cutting corners" over Kosovo

MUNICH (Reuters) - Serbian President Boris Tadic warned the European Union on Friday against "cutting corners" on Kosovo, urging further dialogue on the future of the province which is set to declare its independence from Belgrade.

Tadic, speaking at a security conference in the southern German city of Munich, said he could not accept a "dismembering" of Serbia and said Belgrade, Pristina and the international community had to solve the Kosovo question together.

The United States and most of the 27-member European Union back self-determination for Kosovo and its 90-percent ethnic Albanian majority. However, Russia, allied with Serbia against Kosovo's secession, has blocked an independence resolution in the U.N. Security Council.

Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said earlier on Friday that about 100 countries were ready to recognise the province's independence, which political sources say could be declared on Feb 17.

The European Union plans to take over supervision of Kosovo from the United Nations, which has administered the territory since NATO expelled Serbian forces in 1999.

EU foreign ministers will meet on Feb 18 and are expected to formally authorise the dispatch of a police and judicial mission.

Tadic has said the EU mission lacks a legal basis and should be approved by the United Nations Security Council.

"We welcome as a matter of principle any demonstration of Europe's deepening commitment to the western Balkans. And for that reason, we welcome the desire to increase its presence in our southern province of Kosovo," he said.

"But at the same time we must all be very careful about cutting corners. I say to you that we must remain vigilant of the dangers of expediency and take seriously the strategic priorities we all share," he said.

Tadic urged the international community to seek the legitimacy of the Security Council, saying the alternative would be a "dangerous leap into the dark unknown."

"At a time of great global turbulence, the precedent that would be established should Serbia be partitioned against its will...could in turn result in the escalation of many existing conflicts, the reactivation of a number of frozen conflicts and the instigation of who knows how many new conflicts," he said.

(Reporting by Kerstin Gehmlich)