Serbia warned the West that an independent Kosovo will trigger new secessionist moves in the Balkans.

Slobodan Samardzic, Serbia's Kosovo minister, said: "If the independence of Kosovo is recognized, it would not be the final stage of the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia, but the first stage of new disintegration and secession in the Balkans,” Reuters reports.

Samardzic spoke at a conference on Sunday, but he didn’t mention where these breaks will happen.

Some analysts are saying that if Kosovo province is declared independent it will suffer mainly because the Serb-dominated north of the province will break in order to join Serbia.

On Tuesday Serb and Kosovo Albanian leaders will meet in Brussels in order to come to a compromise as the UN’s deadline on December 10 approaches.

Hashim Thaci, former guerrilla fighter, now Kosovo’s prime minister after the Sunday elections, said that he will declare the independence of Kosovo.

The independence might be recognized by the U.S. and E.U., but according to Samardzic, it will be like opening Pandora's box.

According to Serb politicians, Macedonia could also suffer.

In 2001 a rebellion started by the 25% Albanian minority was settled down by the West, but the tensions remained.

If Kosovo is denied independence these tensions could become worse.

Samardzic said that Serbia’s offer of autonomy for Kosovo could mean stability, order and rule of law.

On Monday Branislav Ristivojevic, spokesman for the DSS party of Serb Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, said if Serbia’s autonomy proposal was serious than it could be a proof for objective negotiations

He said: "Dangers lurk if Kosovo unilaterally declares independence and some countries recognise it. The whole world order would crumble; everything that was built in the past 50 years would be meaningless. All the flash points in the world, not just in the Balkans, would erupt".

Kosovo Albanians want to hear only about independence and nothing less.