Kosovo is to declare independence in the next few months, with the tacit support of the EU and Nato, in an effort to resolve the eight-year impasse on the status of the province at the heart of the 1999 war between Nato and Belgrade.

Senior western diplomats say the province will make its move and be recognised as independent by European Union and Nato countries once a United Nations resolution about its future – expected to stop short of granting independence – is agreed.