"We have already defended Kosovo with arms from a much stronger enemy," Nikolic was quoted by Friday's issue of Glas Javnosti daily as saying to the Serbian broadcasting network on Thursday.
The Radical leader said that the armed defence was the last option and that diplomatic means should be used "till the very end". He reiterated his previous claim that the Radicals would take to the streets and organise protest rallies against Serbian President Boris Tadic and PM Vojislav Kostunica if on the day after the possible proclamation of Kosovo's independence they fail to launch preparations to "return Kosovo to Serbia".
Nikolic has been standing in for the leader of the Serb Radical Party, Vojislav Seselj, who was indicted by the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague. The SRS is the strongest opposition party in the Serbian parliament. According to the latest polls, in the event of elections, the SRS would win 35-40 percent of the vote, with the abstention rate being estimated at some 58 percent.