Kosovo PM: We will defend every inch of Kosovo

PRISTINA: Prime Minister Hashim Thaci warned on Tuesday that Kosovo was prepared to defend every inch of its territory, which he said had been recognised as an independent state by the international community.

"We will never allow Kosovo's territorial integrity, which has been internationally recognised, to be jeopardised," Thaci told reporters on a visit to the central village of Racak.

"Not an inch of Kosovo's territory must be touched by anyone," he said, warning that the authorities were prepared to "use defence mechanisms for the territory of Kosovo."

"Institutions function as in every state," he added. The authorities were in "permanent touch" with the UN mission in the former Serbian province and were also cooperating with NATO-led peacekeepers (KFOR) deployed in the territory, Thaci said.

Kosovo's Albanian-majority parliament unilaterally declared independence from Serbia on February 17 and was promptly recognised as a new state by the United States and a number of EU countries.

But the move was vehemently opposed in Belgrade and by Russia and was followed with a series of protests in Serbia and northern Kosovo, populated mostly by the Serbs.