UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon unveiled plans on Thursday to restructure the world body's presence in Kosovo, the breakaway province of Serbia which declared independence in February.
In a report on the activities of the UN Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK), Ban said that he intends to adjust UNMIK so that the European Union would gradually play an enhanced role in Kosovo.
"Pending guidance from the Security Council, it is my intention to adjust operational aspects of the international civil presence in Kosovo," Ban wrote in the report to the Security Council.
The European Union, which operates a mission in the region, would "gradually assume increasing operational responsibilities in the areas of international policing, justice and customs throughout Kosovo," he said.
The secretary-general has sent letters to both President Boris Tadic in Belgrade and Fatmir Sejdiu in Pristina informing them of the plans to reconfigure UNMIK and the broader international civil presence in Kosovo.
The letters also confirmed the UN position of "status-neutrality" on the question of the status of Kosovo and detail the world body's commitment to a dialogue with Serbia in six areas: police, justice, boundary management, Serbian patrimony, transport and infrastructure, and customs.
Ban is also planning to appoint a new special representative as part of the reconfiguration, which follows consultations with Belgrade, Pristina, the EU, Security Council member states and the Kosovo Contact Group.
Source:Xinhua
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