Serbia: Kosovo to be independent Feb. 17
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The Serbian minister for Kosovo said Friday that his government has information that the province's Albanian leadership will declare independence on Feb. 17.
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Belgrade says ambassadors from countries that recognise an independent Kosovo will be withdrawn
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The last time Kosovo declared  independence in 1990 it went unrecognized and ignored. When it  splits from Serbia this weekend, it will have the support of  the West, which sees no way back.
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Key facts about Kosovo, which is preparing to declare independence from Serbia:
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MITROVICA, Serbia  - There are some new faces in the Serb-controlled slice of northern Kosovo, the breakaway province where 2 million Albanians will declare independence from Serbia within days.
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Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci tells reporters a declaration of independence is a matter of days away.
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Britain is ready to support an independent Kosovo and provide military back-up if required, the government said Saturday as the majority ethnic-Albanian province prepared to secede from Serbia.
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"There is virtual unity on Kosovo."  By David BrunnstromBRUSSELS  - Kosovo Albanian leaders said on Monday they will start immediate talks with Western backers towards an independence declaration as the EU came closer to unity in support of the province's drive to secede from Serbia.With a United Nations deadline for agreement on the future of the breakaway province expiring on Monday, Russia warned any unilateral recognition could trigger problems around the world."From today, Kosovo begins consultations with key international partners to coordinate the next steps to a declaration of independence," Skender Hyseni, spokesman of Kosovo's negotiating team with Serbia, said in Pristina. Read more
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"The independence of Kosovo is unacceptable for Serbia"  Kosovo's prime minister vowed Thursday to declare independence unilaterally if internationally brokered talks don't 'open a way for us,' staking out a tough position as the latest round of negotiations on the province's future began in Vienna.Officials said a breakthrough was unlikely. Kosovo's majority ethnic Albanians continue to demand full independence from Serbia, while the Serbs insist on retaining Kosovo as part of their territory.That deadlock raises the likelihood of a dramatic showdown in December, when 120 days of last-ditch negotiations called by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon expire _ and the international community is confronted with the possibility that Kosovo's Albanians will make a play for statehood on their own. Read more
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Kosovo's independence sets a dangerous precedent for other states with separatist movements, says Serbia.
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Kosovo is ready to offer  Serbia a treaty guaranteeing cordial relations after the  breakaway province becomes independent, Kosovo&#39;s ethnic  Albanian leaders said on Monday.
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Serbia disregarded European Union calls for less provocative Serb rhetoric on Kosovo at the weekend and warned that the United States was leading the West down a path of force to make the province independent.
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PRISTINA, Serbia  - Serbia has promised NATO it would not use force against Kosovo if the breakaway province carried out a vow to declare independence early next year, a senior alliance commander said on Thursday.
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Kosovo will get independence from Serbia  &quot;one way or another&quot; despite Russia&#39;s objections at the United  Nations, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on  Thursday.
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Serbia hopes to sign a key aid and trade pact with the European Union before the end of this month, Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said Tuesday, as its province of Kosovo heads toward independence.
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Kosovo's parliament officially declared the province's independence from Serbia today, a move opposed by Serbia and Russia but supported by many western governments. "From this moment on, the political position of Kosovo changes. Kosovo is a republic -- an independent, sovereign and democratic country," Kosovo parliament speaker Jakup Krasniqi said.
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Negotiations to determine whether Kosovo can be declared an independent state are still a year away.