Ban Ki-moon

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he has told U.N. officials in Kosovo to move ahead with reconfiguring the organization's mission in the area.

Mr. Ban said Thursday that in view of the new realities in Kosovo, the U.N. mission can no longer perform as effectively as in the past.

The U.N. chief said, since declaring Kosovo's independence from Serbia in February, authorities in Pristina have adopted a number of laws assuming control over areas previously reserved for U.N. administrators. He also said Kosovo's Serbs have rejected those measures and have created parallel structures, especially in northern Kosovo.  

Mr. Ban said he has instructed his special envoy for Kosovo, Lamberto Zannier, to cooperate with the new European Union Mission in Kosovo as it assumes additional duties under U.N. auspices.

In Brussels, representatives of NATO, the European Union and the U.N. reviewed the situation and agreed on the need for coordinated action in the region.  

Serbia's Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic is scheduled to discuss the situation with Mr. Ban in New York later Friday.