Kostunica tells Serbia Kosovo can't be held

By Douglas Hamilton 25 minutes ago

Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica told Serbs for the first time on Thursday the imminent loss of their historic province of Kosovo was a reality, but in a televised address he vowed the nation would never accept it.

Kostunica's statement was his most open acknowledgment yet that Serbia cannot prevent Kosovo's Albanian majority from proclaiming independence on Sunday, with the promise of Western recognition but without United Nations approval.

He said his coalition had adopted a document to pre-emptively annul "an event which will become reality in a few days, about illegal violence and an act of declaring independence of Kosovo."

"This decision confirms full national unity," Kostunica said, adding that what was about to happen was "a gross violation of international law."

At the United Nations in New York, Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic told the U.N. Security Council on Thursday that Belgrade will use all its economic, political and diplomatic means to stop Kosovo seceding but will not resort to violence.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080214/wl_nm/serbia_kosovo_dc_7