Security Council deplores Kosovo Assembly's action on border pact

Reaffirming its earlier statements and decisions, the United Nations Security Council today said that the Kosovo Assembly had overstepped its authority when it passed a recent measure dealing with a border pact.

In a statement read out at a formal meeting by its President for the month of May, Ambassador Kishore Mahbubani of Singapore, the Council deplored the Assembly's adoption of a "resolution on the protection of the territorial integrity of Kosovo."

The Council said it concurred with Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Representative for Kosovo, Michael Steiner, that such resolutions and decisions by the Assembly on matters that do not fall within its field of competence were "null and void."

"The Security Council calls on Kosovo's elected leaders to focus their attention on the urgent matters for which they have responsibility, in accordance with resolution 1244 of 10 June 1999 and the Constitutional Framework," the statement said. "Concrete progress in those areas is of paramount importance to improve the life of the people."

In reiterating its full support for Mr. Steiner, the Council also urged Kosovo's leaders to work in close cooperation with the UN Interim Administration Mission (UNMIK) and the international security presence (KFOR) with a view to promote a better future for Kosovo and stability in the region. "All steps undermining those efforts are detrimental to this common objective," the statement said.