BELGRADE, April 2, 2008 (AFP) - A planeload of Russian humanitarian aid for distribution among Serbs in the newly proclaimed state of Kosovo arrived Wednesday at Belgrade airport.

Serbia's outgoing minister for Kosovo, Slobodan Samardzic, waited at the airport as a Soviet-era Ilyushin aircraft carrying the 40 tonnes of aid touched down shortly before 10:00 am (0800 GMT).

The aid, which includes children's food, was the first of at least three shipments totalling 140 tonnes that Russia is due to deliver this month to Serbia, its traditional Slavic ally.

Last week Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed his government to prepare deliveries of medicine, medical equipment and food for Kosovo Serbs.

At the time, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Belgrade government had requested the aid for Serbs in Kosovo enclaves, where the situation had become 'strained' since Kosovo declared independence from Serbia.

Serbs account for about 120,000 of Kosovo's population of around two million.

They are vehemently opposed to independence, which Kosovo's ethnic Albanian-dominated parliament unilaterally declared on February 17.

The United States and most European countries have recognised Kosovo's independence, while Moscow insists a final resolution on the region's status can only come with Belgrade's consent.