UN mediator for Kosovo Martti Ahtisaari said on Wednesday that his plan for the future status of Serbia's mainly ethnic-Albanian Kosovo province should be completed this year.

"My plan hasn't changed, 2006 is still my target date," the former Finnish president said after meeting at NATO headquarters with representatives of countries participating in the international peacekeeping force in Kosovo.

Ahtisaari is due to submit his recommendations on Kosovo's future to the UN Security Council before the end of 2006.

European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Javier Solana said earlier that it was likely the process could be delayed because Serbia plans in the meantime to hold a referendum on a new constitution and to have parliamentary and presidential elections.

Many in Kosovo oppose any delay in the negotiation process, arguing it could negatively impact stability in the region. Although technically still part of Serbia, Kosovo has been run by the UN. and NATO since a 1999 war.

The Kosovo status talks haven't yet produced results, with Serbia rejecting calls by Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority for full independence.

Speaking to reporters together with Ahtisaari, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer indicated that NATO will continue to be involved in Kosovo, during the status talks as well as in the period following their conclusion.

"It is clear that KFOR will have a role to play in a certain period after there is, hopefully, a status settlement," He said.
 
(Xinhua News Agency October 19, 2006)