WASHINGTON -- November 18, Thursday (FONET) - There is less international support for Kosovo independence now than there was five years ago, political analyst John Zavales said today.

Speaking to The Voice of America, Zavales said that the international community should point out that independence is not the inevitable resolution for the status of Kosovo.

"Resolution 1244 of the UN Security Council is the only document on the status of Kosovo and that defines it as part of Serbia, so for Kosovo to become independent, a new resolution would be needed, and most likely some member of the Security Council would veto that," he said.

"Also the Serbian government has presented its program for the decentralisation of the province and the European Union has basically accepted that concept. In the light of that, and under the provisions of Resolutions 1244, there needs to be serious consideration of deploying a small number of Serbian soldiers and policemen in some parts of Kosovo where there is a majority of Serbs and members of other ethnic minorities. This could be progressively implemented with the support of KFOR and the UN police," said Zavales.

He added that the division of Kosovo is one possible resolution but that this should not be the opening option either for the international community or Serbia, but be considered only if the reintegration of the province is not successful.

John Zavales is an independent consultant with a focus on civil-military coordination in humanitarian operations.

From 1991 to 2001 he served in the US Department of Defence, mostly in humanitarian projects, and was based in Albania during the 1999 Kosovo crisis.