PRISTINA (AFP)--The European Union and Serbia have agreed on the deployment of an E.U. mission to Kosovo after Brussels apparently met Belgrade's demands the mission would view Kosovo's status as neutral, a newspaper said Thursday. 

The Kosovo daily Zeri said E.U. envoy Stefan Lehne had "reached an agreement in principle with Serbian President Boris Tadic on a formula for the deployment of EULEX (mission) in Kosovo that would be acceptable for Belgrade." 

"The formula is as follows: EULEX will deploy in Kosovo under the 'status neutral' umbrella of (U.S. Security Council) Resolution 1244," Zeri said, citing an unnamed Western diplomatic source. 

Resolution 1244, adopted at the end of Kosovo's 1998-1999 war, put the breakaway Serbian province under the U.N. interim mission in Kosovo, UNMIK, while retaining Serbian sovereignty. 

Kosovo, an ethnic Albanian-majority territory, seceded from the former Yugoslav republic in February. 

To date, only 52 countries including the U.S. and most E.U. members have recognized Kosovo's independence despite staunch opposition from Serbia and Russia, which consider it a breach of international law. 

By early December, the 27-nation European bloc plans to fully replace UNMIK with EULEX, a mission comprising some 2,000 mainly police and justice experts. 

But the deployment has been slowed down as Serbia insists it must be neutral regarding Kosovo's independence and approved by the Security Council, where it has the backing of its veto-wielding ally Russia. 

In Belgrade, Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said the talks were close to conclusion. 

"We are close to arriving at an agreement that can be confirmed by the Security Council," Jeremic told reporters. 

Zeri reported the agreement "should also be the core of the presidential statement of the United Nations Security Council, which is expected to be endorsed in a session scheduled for... Nov. 11." 

Monday, Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said his government opposed the deployment if the E.U. mission viewed Kosovo's status as neutral, as sought by Serbia.