A declaration of Kosovo's independence by the end of next week looked increasingly likely Friday after Serbia said it had information the "illegal" move would happen on February 17.
"The Serbian government has received more and more significant information that (Kosovo Prime Minister) Hashim Thaci will illegally declare the unilateral independence of Kosovo on February 17," said Slobodan Samardzic, Serbia's minister for Kosovo.
"The EU cannot expect that just before the unilateral declaration of independence announced for the 17th of February, that Serbia itself signs for the independence of Kosovo," he was quoted as saying in a statement.
Speaking at a press conference shortly beforehand in the provincial capital Pristina, Thaci said Kosovo's imminent independence - strongly opposed by Serbia and its ally Russia - was set to be recognised by around 100 countries.
"It is a done (deal). Everybody knows it. None of the authorities from Belgrade can affect the positive development of a declaration and recognition of the independence of Kosovo," said Thaci. "We have confirmations of about 100 countries around the world which are ready to recognise independence immediately after the declaration of independence.
"We will have a strong and massive (international) recognition," he told reporters after meeting with Joachim Ruecker, the head of the UN mission that has run Kosovo since the end of its 1998-1999 war. Diplomatic sources in Pristina have told AFP that Kosovo looks set to make the historic move before a meeting of European Union foreign ministers that is scheduled for February 18.
The authorities were "awaiting the green light from the West and consider the weekend before the EU meeting as the most probable date," according to a source close to the Kosovo government.
A United States diplomat said independence was likely to be proclaimed on a Sunday, when the UN Security Council does not meet, which fits with the Serbian government information of February 17. Russia is a permanent member of the Security Council, where it has warned it will use its veto powers in support of Serbia to block any such declaration.
Belgrade and most Serbs oppose independence for Kosovo, which they consider the cradle of their history, culture and Orthodox Christianity. Along with the United States, most nations in the European Union are ready to accept Kosovo's independence.
But several EU members including Cyprus, Romania and Slovakia have deep reservations and are refusing to support such a proclamation due to fears it might encourage separatists at home.
The 27-nation bloc is nevertheless preparing to send a 2,000-strong civilian mission that will replace that of the United Nations. The move has sparked a political crisis in Serbia, whose nationalist Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica is blocking his cabinet from signing an unrelated accord with Brussels.
Meanwhile a report in Pristina said the UN mission in Kosovo, UNMIK, has an evacuation plan for its international staff in case the independence declaration sparks violence.
The daily Koha Ditore, known for its reliability, said it had seen a 72-page document describing "all the details of the evacuation of the UNMIK employees, as well as 15 (international) agencies." "Of course we have an emergency plan," UNMIK spokesman Alexander Ivanko told AFP without confirming the report.
The plan reportedly comprises five phases, the last two of which are dubbed "Red 1" and "Red 2" and envisage the complete evacuation of the international personnel.
"Fearing the worst, certain members of the international personnel have already evacuated their families from Kosovo," said the newspaper. Kosovo has been under UN administration since 1999, when a Nato bombing campaign drove out forces loyal to late Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic to end a brutal crackdown on the province's Albanians.
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