Serbia Appeals to Security Council As Kosovo Prepares to Go It Alone

The battle over Kosovo's independence entered its endgame yesterday with Serbia calling for an emergency meeting of the UN security council as the province's leader declared that the final preparations for statehood had been completed.

Serbia's foreign minister, Vuk Jeremic, is expected in New York today to ask security council members not to recognize the province - seen as a breakaway from Serbia - if it declares independence, as expected, early next week.

Russia expressed its support for the emergency session. However, western diplomats said the debate would not postpone Kosovo's declaration.

In Pristina, Kosovo's prime minister, Hashim Thaci, said yesterday: "The Kosovo issue has already left the security council building." He told the Guardian: "The flag is ready. The constitution is ready." Both Kosovo's new flag and constitution have been the subject of prolonged secret discussion in Pristina.

The declaration of independence is almost certain to be made in the hours leading up to a meeting of European foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday - so it could be bolstered almost immediately by recognition from EU member states.

Britain, France, Germany and the Netherlands are expected to be first to recognize Kosovo as a state, with the US weighing in at the same time or shortly afterwards. Other European countries will add their names in successive days, with only Cyprus likely to remain adamant in its refusal to acknowledge the new country, lining up with Serbia and Russia.

EU officials said yesterday that the deployment of a European stability mission made up of 1,800 police, legal and political advisers, was imminent. The Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, strongly disapproved of this plan, arguing that any such mission required a mandate from the security council.

In Kosovo, Nato troops stepped up patrols, particularly at possible flash points involving ethnic Albanians (90% of Kosovo's population) and Serbs.

However, Thaci insisted the transition to independence would be peaceful. "I want to reassure Kosovo's citizens there will be no price rises and there is no room for anxiety or panic. Instead this will be a time for celebration."

There remains doubt about his authority over Kosovo Serbs, particularly in the north where leaders have vowed to create parallel institutions to sidestep Pristina. But the UN special representative to Kosovo, Joachim Rücker, said such set-ups would not be tolerated and were illegal.