A group of international envoys has ruled out Kosovo's return to direct Serbian rule.
German diplomat Michael Scheffer said on behalf of the six-nation Contact Group Wednesday that the final status of the province can only come from talks between Kosovo and Serbian leaders.
He said the mainly ethnic Albanian Kosovo must retain its autonomy. But he ruled out a union with Albania and said Kosovo must not be split along ethnic lines.
Many ethnic Albanians in Kosovo want independence. Serbia strongly opposes the idea.
The developments came as U.N. prosecutors in Kosovo indicted an ethnic Albanian on murder charges for the 2001 bombing of a busload of Serbs.
The attack in Kosovo killed 12 people and wounded more than 20 others.
Some information for this report provided by AP.