AFP quotes Ceku as saying there was strong international support for the move.

The province’s final status, however, has yet to be agreed by the UN Security Council and Russia has threatened to veto a current plan, the agency reported.

"I expect Kosovo to be able to declare its independence by the end of May," Ceku said in a New York Times interview published Monday.

"There is a very strong U.S. commitment to do this," he said, adding that, "It wants to finish the job. Britain's (prime minister) Tony Blair is on board, too."

"With the G-8 meeting due to take place in June, I don't think Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany will want G-8 countries to attend the summit without resolving Kosovo's status," he was quoted.

The International Herald Tribune reports that Ceku, a former KLA commander, said “enough time had been spent discussing the Ahtisaari plan”.

"Russia is using Kosovo to prove it is a player," Ceku also said.

"Our friends who are realistic and countries that have invested soldiers, money and eight years of engagement here, and who are planning to be present, want an end to this unresolved status," Ceku said.

"Why should those countries which have not invested time, money and people here block a UN resolution? Saying no to the Ahtisaari proposal would be a big decision," he continued.

"There are Serbian leaders, radicals and politicians who are using Kosovo as a propaganda hit for them," Ceku said.

"On the other side, you have moderate, young people who are tired of all these old stories about Kosovo. They want to look forward and join Europe. Serbia is being blocked by the old past."

The newspaper reports Ceku said he was convinced that many Serbs wanted the UN Security Council to take the burden from them and to discharge the responsibility over Kosovo.

"The biggest service Koštunica could do for the Kosovo Serbs is to let them go," he said. "As soon as he understands it, then he will be a great patriot."