Ban urges Kosovo to accept new UN mission

New York - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged the Kosovo government to show flexibility and agree to a revamped UN mission there following its secession from Serbia. A six-point plan to reorganize the UN mission was accepted by Belgrade, but opposed by Pristina. Ban had decided to change the UN mission's mandate in Pristina and draw down its personnel after Pristina declared independence from Serbia.

"I hope Pristina will understand and act with a sense of pragmatism and flexibility," Ban said in a press conference when asked about the delay in making public the plan.

The UN Security Council had planned to discuss it Tuesday, but instead postponed it to another day.

The UN mission in Kosovo, known as UNMIK, administered Kosovo beginning in 1999 after NATO drove out Serbian security forces accused of atrocities against the majority Albanian population in the Serb province. Pristina declared independence in February this year and adopted a new constitution in June, making it a full-fledged state.

Serbia, backed by Russia, was strongly opposed to Kosovo's independence and has filed a petition to the International Court of Justice at The Hague for an advisory opinion on whether the declaration of independence was legal under international law.

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