(Updates with quotes, details, background)

By Patrick Worsnip

UNITED NATIONS, May 11 (Reuters) - European Union nations

and the United States circulated on Friday a draft U.N.

Security Council resolution providing for effective

independence for Kosovo, despite Russian opposition.

The resolution, distributed by France, endorses a plan

drawn up by U.N. envoy Martti Ahtisaari whereby the Serbian

province, which has been under U.N. administration for almost

eight years, would be independent under European Union

supervision.

Western nations say it is time to end the lengthy stalemate

on the breakaway province because talks between Serbs and

Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority on its status have led

nowhere. Belgrade's ally Russia says negotiations should

continue and has hinted at a possible veto of the resolution.

Kosovo, seen by Serbs as a cradle of their culture, passed

out of Belgrade's control in 1999, when NATO bombing drove out

Serb forces who had killed 10,000 Albanian civilians in a

two-year war with guerrillas.

Diplomats expected talks between Security Council diplomats

to start next week in an attempt to reach an agreed text.

The West, worried that Kosovo's Albanians may take matters

into their own hands if the Ahtisaari plan -- which they have

supported -- gets bogged down, is trying to face down Russia's

hostility and push the proposal through.

The draft refers to "the specific circumstances that make

Kosovo a special case," including the years of violence that

accompanied the former Yugoslavia's breakup in the 1990s.

"With this draft resolution, the discussion on the future

status of Kosovo now enters its final phase," French Ambassador

Jean-Marc de la Sabliere said in a statement. "The Council must

meet its responsibilities to ensure the success of the process.

We hope to be able wrap things up within a few weeks."

EUROPEAN ENVOY

Under Ahtisaari's plan, a European envoy mandated by the

United Nations and the EU would replace the U.N. mission, with

power to veto laws and dismiss local officials. The EU would

deploy a police mission alongside the current 16,500-strong

NATO peace force.

Kosovo would have the right to enter into international

agreements and seek membership of international organizations,

which could include the United Nations.

U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said on Thursday he

believed a majority of council members supported the plan and

that the issue was whether Russia would abstain or veto.

"At this point, they have not indicated whether they have

made up their mind on this," he told reporters.

His Russian counterpart, Vitaly Churkin, said Western and

Russian ideas for Kosovo were irreconcilable and, asked about a

Moscow veto, said the situation "does require the need to use

all options available."

Russia says guarantees for Kosovo's 100,000 remaining

Serbs, who live alongside some 2 million Albanians, are not yet

in place.

Asked on Friday whether Russia would put forward its own

draft resolution, senior diplomat Konstantin Dolgov said, "We

will see."

To pass the Security Council, a resolution needs nine votes

and no veto by the 15-member body's permanent members -- the

United States, Russia, Britain, France or China.

China, like Russia, has called for more negotiations.

Panama, a nonpermanent council member, has suggested adopting

Ahtisaari's plan after a six-month delay for further talks, a

proposal Western diplomats said could gain traction in the

council if it brought Russia round to the resolution.

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