(dpa) - Kosovo's parliament was set to declare independence from Serbia on Sunday, and was looking to the West to recognize is sovereignty.
An emergency session of the parliament has been called in Pristina, with the declaration of independence expected at on Sunday afternoon.
Serbia on Thursday passed a resolution "annulling" the declaration of independence in advance.
Serbia also threatened to fight the secession of its province with all political, diplomatic and legal means.
Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica on Thursday described an independent Kosovo as a "fake, puppet state" on Serbia's soil.
Serbian President Boris Tadic, who was inaugurated for his second term on Friday, also said that Serbia would never recognize an independent Kosovo, which Serbs consider the heartland of their religious and national identity.
Local reports claim Serbia was preparing to "recall for consultations" its ambassadors from countries that recognize Kosovo's independence.
The United States and leading European Union countries have signalled that they would recognize the new country bilaterally.
Russia has backed Serbia's claim of sovereignty over Kosovo, and blocked Pristina's independence bid in the United Nations in 2007.
No Serb official has however called for a military reaction to the coming declaration and Kostunica has called on the frightened minority Serb population in Kosovo to stay in their homes.
The 90-per cent Albanian majority meanwhile started celebrating on the weekend.
Kosovo Serbs are wary of repression despite a promise from Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci that the safety and the rights of minorities in Kosovo would be respected.
