Kosovo Declares Independence on Sunday - Report

World | February 15, 2008, Friday // 00:00
Kosovo Declares Independence on Sunday - Report According to a spokesman of Kosovo's PM, the region is to declare independence at 5 p.m. on Sunday

Kosovo is to declare independence from Belgrade at 5 pm local time on Sunday, Russian news agency Ria Novosti reported.

The source of information is a spokesman of Kosovo's Prime Minister, the agency said.

However, PM Hashim Thaci did not set an exact time for the declaration at a news conference in Pristina on Friday, despite expectation he would announce the historic date.

Thaci declared instead that Kosovo would protect the rights of all minorities in the current Serbian province after the independence becomes a fact.

Serbia has threatened to use all possible diplomatic and economic measures against Kosovo and Russia slammed eventual Kosovo's independence as "a blatant breach of international law," voicing concerns about the risk of renewed interethnic violence in the province and the Balkans as a whole.

Meanwhile Serbia's newly re-elected president, Boris Tadic, was formally sworn in Friday for a new, five-year term in office.

Tadic was inaugurated at a ceremonial session of parliament, attended by top officials, diplomats, Serbian Orthodox Church dignitaries and other prominent public figures.

"I swear that I will invest all my efforts in the preservation of sovereignty and integrity of the territory of the Republic of Serbia, including Kosovo-Metohija as its integral part, as well as the realization of human and minority rights and freedoms, observation and defense of the Constitution and laws, preservation of peace and welfare of all Serbian citizens and that I will fulfill all my duties conscientiously and responsibly," Tadic swore in his oath of office.

"I will never give up fighting for our Kosovo and I will, with all my might, fight for Serbia to join the European Union," Tadic commented after the ceremony.

He had narrowly won a Feb. 3 runoff against his ultra-nationalist challenger Tomislav Nikolic. The vote was seen as crucial for Serbia's future, offering a choice between Tadic's pro-Western policies and Nikolic's pro-Russian nationalism.

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