Independence on Feb. 17

The Kosovo Albanian leadership has said that it will declare independence from Serbia "in a matter of days," but has never specified the exact date.

Serbia strongly rejects the statehood of Kosovo even though the southern province has not been under its control since NATO's bombing in 1999 to stop a crackdown against the Kosovo Albanian separatists.

Samardzic's statement was issued after a meeting with a senior European Union official, Stefan Lehne, who was in Belgrade to clarify the bloc's plans to send an EU policing and administrative mission to Kosovo.

Serbia has rejected the EU mission, saying it would be a prelude to the province's independence.

Samardzic said that Serbia will not sign any cooperation agreement with the EU, arguing that it would amount to "the signature for the independence of Kosovo."

The Serbian government has been deadlocked over its ties with the EU. Nationalist Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica's faction rejects closer ties with the EU because of the Kosovo issue, while the pro-Western groups allied to President Boris Tadic advocate quick Serbian integration into the bloc.

The United States and most EU nations support Kosovo's independence, saying they would recognize the province's statehood soon after it is declared by Kosovo Albanians.

© AP 

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