Kosovo's ethnic Albanian prime minister has refused to confirm a date for its declaration of independence from Serbia, despite high expectations that it will do so this Sunday.

Hashim Thaci was asked at a news conference on Friday what the date would be.

But Thaci, who had just finished making a statement about defending the rights of Kosovo's minority ethnic Serbs, said: "Let's stick to what the press conference is about."

Defiance

Political tensions have been rising in the run-up to the expected declaration of independence on Sunday by the mainly ethnic Albanian province from Serbia, which vehemently opposes the move.

Opponents have been pressing the Serbian government to organize a huge protest rally against the move.

A core group of big EU states - Britain, France, Germany and Italy - are expected to recognize Kosovo's independence almost immediately, followed by the United States.

Kosovo has been run by a UN mission since 1999, when a Nato bombing campaign drove out forces loyal to Slobodan Milosevic, the late Serbian president, after a months-long armed conflict with ethnic Albanian fighters.

Barnaby Phillips, Al Jazeera's correspondent, in Mitrovica, northern Kosovo, said: "A meeting of Serb leaders in Mitrovica gathered from all over Kosovo, and their mood was one of deep apprehension and a lot of defiance.

"Community leaders stood up and said, 'Let us tell the international community that if Kosovo declares independence, they can forget about northern Kosovo. This is illegal, nothing is over, we will never accept it, it is just beginning.'"

UN appeal

Police reported a minor explosion in the flashpoint Kosovo town of Mitrovica overnight as Serbia, backed by its ally Russia, made an impassioned plea to the UN security council in New York against independence.

Vuk Jeremic, Serbia's foreign minister, told the 15-member council: "We shall never recognise Kosovo's independence. We shall not waiver, we shall not yield, should this cowardly act proceed unchecked - not now, not in a year, not in a decade, never."

That came as Tomislav Nikolic, the leader of Serbia's Radical Party, called on Boris Tadic, the Serbian president, and Vojislav Kostunica, the prime minister, to arrange a massive protest.

Predicting a million-strong turnout, Nikolic said the demonstration would send the world a message of the Serbian people's opposition to the independence of Kosovo, which most consider their historic heartland.

"If Kosovo proclaims independence on Sunday, the rally should be held in the course of next week," said the acting leader of the Radicals, whose president Vojislav Seselj is being tried for war crimes in The Hague.

Independence protest

His appeal came as posters from several nationalist organizations appeared in downtown Belgrade calling on citizens to gather in front of the Slovenian embassy on Saturday.

Slovenia, which along with Croatia was the first republic to declare independence from the former communist Yugoslavia in 1991, is the current president of the European Union.

The 27-nation bloc is expected later on Friday to launch a mission designed to help Kosovo on its path to independence.

Kostunica, a conservative nationalist, is staunchly opposed to the EU mission, which he says is the first step towards the creation of a "puppet state" on his country's territory.

Tadic, a pro-Western leader who also opposes Kosovo's independence but not at the expense of Serbia's integration with the European Union, is due to be sworn in for a second term on Friday.

He was narrowly re-elected in a February 3 presidential election runoff against Nikolic.

In his oath, Tadic will declare his intention to defend Belgrade's sovereignty over Kosovo, which the Serbian constitution proclaims as an "integral" part of the country.

"I do solemnly swear that I will devote all my efforts to preserve the sovereignty and integrity of the territory of the Republic of Serbia, including Kosovo" the presidential oath says.

President's view

Fatmir Sejdu, the president of Kosovo, told Al Jazeera that he wanted peace and stability after independence is declared, and that he would protect minority Serbs in the region.

"Kosovo will be a country for all its citizens. Our institutions are committed to this. We will keep these guarantees. The citizens that love Kosovo as their own country will stay here.

"Our approach was of course that Kosovo would have full international support, but because a few countries hesitated [in the United Nations], we had to take another road.

"But Kosovo has the backing of important countries ... in the UN, the US and other democracies. 

"We want peace, stability and good relations. I give this message to President Tadic ... Kosovo is ready to build new relations, for the sake of young people and future generations," he said.

PHOTO CAPTION

Kosovo's PM Hashim Thaci