The European Union is to imminently start sending a 2,000 strong force of police and legal experts to help the transition to independence. Kosovo's break is backed by the main EU powers and the United States, while Serbia is strongly supported Russia in opposing the creation of a new state. More than 220,000 Serbs have fled the province since the end of the Kosovo war in 1999 when NATO bombing ended a clampdown by Serb forces against separatist ethnic Albanian rebels. Kosovo's parliament convened Friday to adopt new laws that would come into effect upon independence, including measures to guarantee the safety of the jittery Serb minority. Asked at a press conference in Pristina what date the split would come, Thaci replied: "Let's stick to what the press conference is about." He called the meeting to vow to protect the rights of minority Serbs. Kosovo welcomes the future." The Bota Sot newspaper said Kosovo deputies had been ordered to stay close to Pristina on Sunday and to be prepared for the provincial parliament to be convened at three hours' notice. "Celebrate with dignity," read the posters, which were illustrated simply with a bright red heart. Freshly-printed posters appeared on the streets of Kosovo's capital Pristina that appealed for calm during celebrations expected across the ethnic Albanian dominated province, a longtime tinderbox in the Balkans. Serbia also called a special meeting of a key European security body to discuss Kosovo's split. Serbian President Boris Tadic vowed to do everything to keep Kosovo within the Serbian republic when he was sworn in for a second term on Friday in Belgrade. Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci refused to confirm that the declaration would come Sunday but Serbia and the international community is stepping up preparations for an announcement then. Political tensions rose Friday ahead of Kosovo province's threatened declaration of independence from Serbia, which up until the last minute is fighting what it insists will be a "serious threat" to its interests.
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