Kosovo leader says Parliament will declare independence following UN resolution

Hashim Thaci, the leader of Kosovo's second largest party and a former rebel leader, said members of the U.N. Security Council are expected to vote on the resolution at the end of May or in early June, despite continued resistance towards the province's independence by Russia and China, both permanent members of the council with veto power.

"Immediately after this, Kosovo's parliament will declare independence," Thaci told the Associated Press in his office in downtown of Kosovo's capital, Pristina.

Following the independence declaration, Thaci said the United States, European Union and the neighboring countries will give formal recognition to Kosovo's statehood.

Thaci is part of a five-member ethnic Albanian negotiating team that has led the process of resolving the province's political status. He heads the Democratic Party of Kosovo, the main opposition group in the province.

His remarks came ahead of a crucial session of the Security Council — expected next month — which will consider the independence plan prepared by U.N. envoy Martti Ahtisaari, expected to be the basis of a U.N. resolution that could pave the way to the province's independence. The council has the final say over Kosovo's fate.

The plan envisages granting internationally supervised independence to Kosovo, which would remain under EU and U.S. supervision.

Serbia staunchly opposes losing 15 percent of its territory.

Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov reiterated his country's opposition to a U.S.-backed plan granting independence to the breakaway province of Kosovo, warning Thursday that imposing a solution is "absolutely unacceptable."

Washington insists that the Security Council must act quickly in the next weeks to finish the job by helping to lead Kosovo to independence.

U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said earlier this week the U.S. considers independence the only option for Kosovo and has suggested that Washington may recognize Kosovo's split from Serbia, even if Russia vetoes the U.N. plan when it comes to a vote at the Security Council.

Thaci said he did not believe that Russia would veto the plan, but added that "even in the case of a Russian veto Kosovo's independence will be recognized internationally." He did not rule out that Kosovo's parliament might declare independence even if the Security Council fails to endorse a joint resolution on the province's future.

Kosovo, a province of Serbia, has been under U.N. and NATO administration since a 78-day NATO-led air war that halted a Serb crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists in 1999.

Ethnic Albanians, who make up 90 percent of Kosovo's 2 million people, are seeking independence from Belgrade. But Serbia and Kosovo's Serb minority say the province is the heart of Serbia's ancient homeland and should remain within its borders.

"With or without a resolution Kosovo will become independent," Thaci insisted. The Associated Press

/The International Herald Tribune/