Brdo (Slovenia): United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said yesterday he was concerned that the UN Security Council remained deeply divided over Kosovo, saying the impasse there could be dangerous.

"I have expressed my concern about the fact that the Security Council still remains deeply divided on the way forward on Kosovo, this is dangerous for the situation on Kosovo," Ban said after meeting with Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa.

"If this impasse continues the situation may take its own dynamics ... This will be very dangerous," Ban told a news conference. Ninety per cent of Kosovo's two million people are ethnic Albanians, whose leaders say they are within weeks of declaring independence after almost nine years under UN administration.

Ban declined to say whether he supported EU plans for a police and justice mission in Kosovo or if an existing UN Security Council resolution gave legal ground for the mission.

Asked if Security Council resolution 1244,adopted in 1999 after NATO air forces drove Serbian troops out of Kosovo, provided an adequate legal basis for the continued presence of outside peacekeepers and overseers, he said:

"I will assess the situation as it develops in the future... I will have to closely consider and examine the legal implications of this, therefore I am not at this time in a position to say any definitive answer."

Source : UNI