NEBI QENA, PRISTINA
A date for Kosovo to declare independence from Serbia has been agreed by Albanian leaders and Western capitals, the prime minister of the breakaway province said yesterday.
Hashim Thaci said the date had been co-ordinated with Washington and the EU.
"It will be a good surprise, made fast in the coming days," Thaci said before departing for Brussels. "The date is co-ordinated, and it will be made public very soon."
Thaci planned to meet EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, Nato Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and Dutch diplomat Peter Feith, who will lead a proposed EU mission in Kosovo.
Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leaders had been expected to declare independence in February or March. Serbia, however, strongly opposes the move and the issue has caused friction between the West and Serbian ally Russia, which has a UN Security Council veto.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday added urgency to resolving Kosovo's status, saying putting off resolutions "doesn't make tough decisions easier".
The UN and a Nato peacekeeping mission took control of Kosovo in 1999 after 78 days of Nato bombing forced Serbian troops to end a brutal crackdown on Albanians.-AP
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