UN chief calls on restraint on Kosovo

UNITED NATIONS - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on all sides concerned Sunday to refrain from any actions or statements that could endanger peace and security in Kosovo in the wake of a self-proclaimed independence by Kosovo's ethnic Albanians.

"I call on all sides to reaffirm and act upon their commitments to refrain from any actions or statements that could endanger peace, incite violence or jeopardize security in Kosovo and the region," Ban said to reporters after a UN Security Council informal meeting on the situation in Kosovo.

Kosovo's parliament officially declared independence from Serbia on Sunday, with support from the United States and the European Union.

Ban said he was informed by his Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), Joachim Rucker, that the Assembly of Kosovo's Provisional Institutions of Self-Government held a session earlier Sunday and adopted a resolution declaring Kosovo's independence.

Meanwhile, he said, he received a letter Sunday from Serbian President Boris Tadic, who informed the UN chief that the Republic of Serbia had adopted a decision that the declaration of independence by Kosovo "represents a forceful and unilateral secession of a part of the territory of the Republic of Serbia and does not produce any legal effect either in the Republic of Serbia or in the international legal order."

Ban noted that the situation in Kosovo now "remains calm and no other major incidents are reported," despite an explosion in north Mitrovica with no injuries reported.

Pending guidance from the Security Council, which is expected to hold an open debate on Kosovo, the secretary-general said that UNMIK will continue to consider Security Council resolution 1244, which was adopted in 1999, as the legal framework for its mandate and will continue to implement its mandate in the light of the evolving circumstances.

The Security Council adopted resolution 1244 on June 10, 1999, reiterating the then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia's sovereignty over the region of Kosovo and asking all UN members to respect its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Under the resolution, Kosovo has been administered by UNMIK with the security guarantee of NATO-led peacekeeping forces ever since.

Ban also said that visits by Serbian government officials were taking place Sunday in a number of locations throughout Kosovo and were facilitated by UNMIK.