Britain, France, Italy, Germany, the United States and Russia will meet for the first time after a draft resolution on Kosovo by UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari was removed from consideration in the UN Security Council last week under pressure from veto-wielding Moscow.
Ahtisaari's plan favored independence for Kosovo regardless of Serbia's objections.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday the Contact Group would not use Ahtisaari's plan as a basis. The minister reiterated the position of Russia, a traditional Serbian ally, that a resolution plan must meet the interests of both Serbia and its Albanian-dominated province of Kosovo.
When asked Saturday what leverage Russia would have in the Contract Group, where there was no veto power, and how it was going to influence the discussion, Russia's envoy to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, said intriguingly: "You will see what will happen."