TIRANA, April 20 (Xinhua) -- It was intended to be an energy meeting, but Kosovo issue stole the show and took the central stage at the summit of Balkan leaders Friday, news reaching here from Skopje reported.

    At the press conference after leaders signing the Joint Declaration at the Macedonian lakeside resort of Ohrid, Serbian President Boris Tadic and his Albanian counterpart Alfred Moisiu clashed over the future of Serbia's breakaway southern province Kosovo, Makfax, Macedonia's independent news agency, reported.

    President Tadic reiterated Serbia's stance that the UN special envoy Martti Ahtisaari's proposal on Kosovo is unacceptable to Serbia and that negotiations should continue.

    He said he had heard from Ahtisaari that the "key argument" for Kosovo's independence is the threat of violence by the ethnic Albanian majority against Serbs remaining in the province.

    "If that's an argument for its independence, then why shouldn't it be a case for further negotiations?" he told a press conference.

    Violence can't be "an argument for anything," Tadic said.

    Albanian President Moisiu said negotiations between the two sides had last a whole year, and that it was time to close the issue, saying that Serbia's request was "just to postpone the decision."

    Tadic responded by saying that he "is defending the legitimate rights of my country, its sovereign and integrity without endangering the rights of the Albanians in Kosovo."

    Nikola Radmanovic, president of the Bosnia presidency, stated that Kosovo was an issue of bilateral talks, saying it was Serbia's internal issue, not Bosnia's concern.

    Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski also said Macedonia is not part of the Kosovo problem, but he stressed that as a member of international organizations, Macedonia would respect any UN decisions.

    Kosovo has been run by the UN and the NATO since 1999. Ethnic Albanians, who make up 90 percent of the province's 2 million population, are demanding independence, while Serbia and the Serbsin Kosovo want it to remain inside Serbia.

    UN special envoy Martti Ahtisaari formally presented his long-anticipated proposals for Kosovo to the UN Security Council on March 26. The proposals recommend conditional independence for Kosovo which is allowed to have the trappings for a sovereign state, including its own flag and anthem.