Kosovo's prime minister said today he might declare independence from Serbia unilaterally if a UN-sponsored settlement due soon falls short of granting statehood.
"I'm not threatening the UN Security Council," Kosovo's ethnic Albanian Prime Minister Agim Ceku told a news conference. "We see this as a possibility. How we declare independence will not be a rash decision, but one taken in accordance with our friends and strategic partners."
Albanian Prime Minister Agim Ceku
Kosovo's leaders also asked representatives of major powers due to meet in Vienna tomorrow to say whether or not they will delay a decision they promised before the end of this year.
Diplomats say Kosovo might have to declare independence if, as rumoured, a proposal by UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari stops short of recommending direct UN recognition. They say Mr Ahtisaari is considering setting Kosovo on a path to statehood, but leaving recognition up to individual countries in deference to opposition from UN veto holder Russia.
Some European officials are worried this could split the European Union, which is due to take over stewardship of Kosovo from the United Nations next year.
Reflecting the nervousness, the European Commission yesterday called for a "politically and legally clear" settlement.
Serbia opposes independence, but has had no formal control over Kosovo since 1999, when Nato bombed for 78 days to drive out Serb forces accused of ethnic cleansing and atrocities in a two-year conflict with separatist rebels. Around 10,000 Albanians died.
Diplomats say some form of independence is likely, but that Russia is opposed to direct UN recognition. Serbia warned last week that any country that chose to recognise an independent Kosovo would see its relations with Serbia suffer.