March 29, 2007 1:34 AM

Bratislava, March 28 (CTK) - The Slovak Parliament today passed a resolution which rejects unlimited independence of the Serbian province Kosovo and wants Serbia's demands to be respected. The resolution was backed by the governing coalition and most of the opposition deputies.

"Full and unlimited independence of the province Kosovo is not in the interest of the region," reads the resolution. 

A mention about respect to Belgrade's demands when Kosovo's future status is settled was incorporated at opposition's insistence. 

The opposition Slovak Democratic and Christian Union-Democratic Party (SDKU-DS) and the Christian Democrats (KDH) had criticised the wording, arguing that it admitted Kosovo's independence. 

Kosovo's independence was opposed by most deputies, most fiercely by the ultra nationalist Slovak National Party (SNS), headed by Jan Slota. Slota said that Kosovo's independence could set a precedent that would encourage ethnic Hungarians to seek autonomy. 

The opposition Hungarian Coalition Party (SMK) was the only party whose deputies abstained from the vote, while the rest supported the proposal. 

Slovakia is an elected member of the United Nations Security, which will probably resolve the Kosovo issue. 

Kosovo has been administered by the international community since 1999, when a NATO intervention forced Slobodan Milosevic's regime to end its fight against Albanian rebels and to withdraw Serbian forces from the region. 

Kosovo Albanians make up 90 percent of the population. They demand full independence, while Belgrade only offers broad autonomy to them. 

In February, U.N. commissioner Marti Ahtisaari submitted his proposal for Kosovo's future setup, which in fact reckons with Kosovo's independence.

Czech News Agency