Two thirds of Kosovo Serbs expect Kosovo to remain part of Serbia

The poll also shows that the citizens from northern Kosovo predominantly believe that autonomy within Serbia is the most realistic option (46 percent), 17 percent think partitioning is the solution, whereas 12 percent of Serbs from south-east Kosovo see independence as the most likely outcome.

The majority of the polled said they expected violence to escalate in Kosovo both in case of essential autonomy and independence, and 46 percent would leave Kosovo at any cost if it gained independence.

The biggest number of the polled, 48 percent, expect the resolution of Kosovo's status to be delayed for more than a year, 12 percent expect to see a solution in the first half of 2008, 11 percent think this will happen relatively soon after December 10, and a smaller percentage of the polled expect the status issue to be resolved quickly.

Asked why the U.S. backed Kosovo's independence, 43 percent of the polled believe the U.S. is being paid by the Albanian lobby, 27 percent say that the U.S. can achieve its geostrategic interests better with the Albanians than with the Serbs, 19 percent think the U.S. hates the Serbs, whereas 19 percent of the citizens claim that the U.S. promised the Albanians independence back in 1999.

The majority, 75 percent, believe that the EU swings more toward the Albanian side, while 17 percent say the EU is neutral on the matter of Kosovo.

The Serb community in Kosovo, according to the poll, has no faith in the interim Kosovo institutions and the international community. They trust the U.S. the least, followed by the Kosovo Assembly, NATO, and the interim Kosovo government.

The poll was conducted between October 14 and 22 on a sample of 889 people in three regions populated by the Serbs - north, central and southern Kosovo.

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