...The declaration is widely expected on Sunday, but Kosovo's Prime Minister Hashim Thaci refused to set a date at a news conference in Pristina.
The US and most EU states are preparing to recognise Kosovo quickly, but Serbia and Russia strongly oppose the move.
Serbia has threatened to use diplomatic and economic measures against Kosovo, though it has ruled out using force.
"I will never give up fighting for our Kosovo," Serbian President Boris Tadic said as he took the oath of office on Friday, 10 days after being re-elected for a second term.
Serbia's foreign minister has urged the United Nations Security Council to oppose the province of Kosovo's expected declaration of independence.
Serbia would not use force to stop the secession but warned that allowing it would give a green light to other separatist movements.
Russia has warned that recognition of Kosovo would be illegal and immoral.
Speaking after the closed session, Serbia's foreign minister said that is was not too late for diplomats to prevent Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence.
He called on the Security Council to continue to negotiate, and he claimed that a majority of member states agreed that the search for a compromise should continue.
Serbia also warned that independence for Kosovo would set a precedent across the world, leading to "an uncontrolled cascade of secession".
Earlier on Thursday, at an international news conference, Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed claims that Kosovo was a "special case".
He said Russia - a permanent member of the UN Security Council and traditional ally of Serbia - has "a ready-made plan and we know what we are going to do"
So, what do you think of the imminent declaration of independence by Kosovo?
My opinion: I am against it. I would like to retain it's status quo, or a Federal Republic of Serbia with Kosovo as one of the republics. And yes, I do understand the Kosovo problem. The death of Marshall Tito (Josef Broz) was the start of the collapse of Yugoslavia, which is now six different countries, and most possibly, seven in the next few days.
Serbia's last 'desperate' attempt to prevent it is to bring it to the UN Security Council, with Russia and most probably China will likely to veto the independence. Both countries has their own separatist regions: Tibet and Taiwan for China and Chechnya, Dagestan, et.al. for the Russian Federation. But then, it is interesting to see what the Security Council can do, when they weren't able to prevent the US led invasion of Iraq despite vetos from Russia, China, and France.
Feel free to post comments here. I am very interested to know your opinions on this matter from your part of the world.
Indeed!
