Kosovo leaders will proclaim independence by the end of February 2008, Albanian prime minister Sali Berisha said.

Kosovo and Albania however would not unify, Berisha said, rejecting speculation on a possible unification, Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) correspondent to Albania Martin Minkov said.

Bulgaria had stated many times that it does not support unilateral proclamation of Kosovo’s independence.

Solomon Passy, chairperson of the Bulgarian Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee, said that there was a consensus in Bulgaria’s society on Kosovo. Bulgaria’s stand was moderate, but considered reality along with Bulgaria's national interests.

Kosovo’s independence was a predetermined “we neither can, nor should avoid,” he said.