Vitaly Churkin said, after a closed emergency session of the UN Security Council, there was no "clear cut support" for independence in Kosovo with only five of the 15 members backing unilateral sovereignty for the Albanian-dominated province.
"They not only have no legal, but no moral right to follow a policy of dragging Pristina to independence...," Churkin said.
The Russian envoy said: "The reaction of the 'minority' - the U.S., Britain and France was also predictable, with the ambassadors repeating yet again that the situation was at a dead end and the protracted problem was impossible to solve within the walls of the UN."
The separatist Serbian province is expected to unilaterally declare its independence on Sunday or Monday. Serbia demanded an emergency meeting Thursday to make a last-ditch effort to try and halt the move, which Belgrade calls "an illegal act."
Although Kosovo's independence is backed by the United States and most EU countries, Serbia, Russia and some European states oppose the plans, considering any declaration a violation of international law.
Speaking before the UN Security Council emergency meeting in New York, Churkin said that Russia would support Serbia's struggle to preserve the country's integrity.
"Belgrade is continuing to courageously struggle to keep the territorial integrity of its country. Russia does not abandon its friends at difficult times," Churkin told journalists.
Kosovo has been a UN protectorate since the NATO bombing of the former Yugoslavia ended a conflict between Albanian and Serb forces in 1999. Over 200,000 Serbians have left Kosovo since 1999 and some 100,000 are still living in the province with a total population of two million.
