Aug 30 (Reuters) - Leaders of Serbia and Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority returned to Vienna on Thursday for last-chance talks on the fate of the breakaway Serbian province, forced by Russian opposition to a Western plan for independence.

There is not a glimmer of breakthrough in sight. Kosovo Albanians demand independence after eight years under U.N. rule and Serbs insist they can never have it.

Here are some facts about the province. * Kosovo has been run by the United Nations since 1999, when NATO launched its first "humanitarian" war, to drive out Serb forces accused of killing 10,000 Albanians and expelling 800,000 in a 1998-99 counter-insurgency war and during the 78-day NATO attack itself. * Serbia claims the province of 2 million people as the heart of its medieval kingdom, site of scores of centuries-old Orthodox churches and monasteries. But Albanians have long formed Kosovo's majority, and want their own state after years of repression under Serb rule. * About 16,000 NATO-led troops from 35 nations patrol the territory, down from 50,000 in June 1999. Their main task has become to protect the 100,000 remaining Serbs who have been targeted for revenge attacks and discrimination since the war. * One of the poorest regions of Europe, Kosovo erupted in violence in March 2004 when ethnic Albanian mobs frustrated at their continued economic and political limbo rioted, burning U.N. cars and Serb homes. Nineteen people died. * U.N. envoy Martti Ahtisaari opened direct talks between Serbia and the Kosovo Albanians in February 2006. The two sides talked past each other for 13 months until March this year, when Ahtisaari called a halt. He said agreement was impossible and proposed independence under the supervision of the European Union. * The 90-percent Albanian majority says it will accept nothing less than independence. Serbia has offered substantial autonomy, but says it will not surrender sovereignty and is hoping for the support of Russia and others. Western diplomats say it is likely to be overruled.ars and Serb homes. Nineteen people died. * U.N. envoy Martti Ahtisaari opened direct talks between Serbia and the Kosovo Albanians in February 2006. The two sides talked past each other for 13 months until March this year, when Ahtisaari called a halt. He said agreement was impossible and proposed independence under the supervision of the European Union. * The 90-percent Albanian majority says it will accept nothing less than independence. Serbia has offered substantial autonomy, but says it will not surrender sovereignty and is hoping for the support of Russia and others. Western diplomats say it is likely to be overruled.

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