NATO warning over Kosovo violence

(CNN) -- The head of NATO promised stern action Friday against any groups seeking a return to violence in the Balkans, after government officials in Serbia raised the specter of war against Kosovo.

At a meeting in Belgium, NATO also confirmed it will maintain its troop contingent in the state to deter violence that may follow the collapse of talks on the future of the Kosovo, which remains a province of Serbia but is seeking independence.

NATO currently has 16,000 troops stationed in the province.

The deadline for a United Nations-brokered peace deal on its future expires this weekend. It is widely expected that diplomats will announce Monday they have been unable to secure a deal after four months of negotiations.

An adviser to Serbia's prime minister ratcheted up the rhetoric Thursday, telling Serbian state television his country would defend its sovereignty "using all means" at its disposal.

"The state has no recourse other than war when someone does not respect the U.N. Security Council," Aleksandar Simic, an adviser to Vojislav Kostunica, told state television.

However, NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said the organization would not tolerate a return to violence.

"We will act resolutely against anyone who seeks to resort to violence," Scheffer said ahead of talks between NATO foreign ministers Friday in Belgium.

Scheffer said the issue of Kosovo's future would be discussed by ministers at the meeting.

NATO also promised in a statement released Friday to maintain current "force contributions, including reserves, at current levels and with no new caveats."

International opinion on the future make-up of the Balkan state is divided, with America already committed to the idea of independence.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is attending the Brussels talks, has said there was "logic" to the move.

However, some European countries -- including Spain, Slovakia and Greece -- are more skeptical, fearing that independence could set a precedent for separatist politicians in other regions.

Ethnic Albanians make up the majority of the population in Kosovo. There is small Serbian minority in the country, which has been under U.N. administration since 1999, when NATO ejected Serbian forces from the province.

Following recent elections, Kosovo's new leader, Hashim Thaci, a former Kosovo Albanian guerrilla leader, promised to make independence for the state his first priority. E-mail to a friend