Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku said on Friday Kosovo should declare unilateral independence from Serbia on 28th November, arguing that a Western bid to steer its secession through the United Nations had failed.
Faced with a threatened Russian veto, the West looks likely on Friday to shelve the latest, watered-down U.N. resolution on the fate of the U.N.-run province.
Ceku's announcement threw down the gauntlet to the European Union, which fears a unilateral move by Kosovo outside the United Nations would split the 27-member bloc.
Ceku said the Kosovo parliament should adopt a resolution setting the date on his return from Washington, where on Monday he is due to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
"November 28 is a day of celebration," he said after meeting Kosovo's U.N. governor, when asked by reporters why he had chosen that day. November 28 marks independence day in neighboring Albania, a date also celebrated by Kosovo's 90-percent Albanian majority.
"The United Nations has failed to act," Ceku added.
The U.N. governor, Joachim Ruecker, did not comment on the issue. Technically, the U.N. mission would have to annul any unilateral declaration, and risk a violent backlash.
Ceku said he proposed the move to President Fatmir Sejdiu and opposition leaders, but did not say whether they had agreed.
Kosovo has so far shied away from setting a deadline without explicit Western support, and some ethnic Albanian leaders fear it will only antagonize their backers. - DDNEWS India
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