The UN Security Council will discuss the UN Mission in Kosovo on March 23 2009, according to a statement by Libyan charge d'affaires at the UN, Serbian news agency Beta reported.

Ibrahim Dabashi, whose country will be presiding over the Security Council in March, said that the council would discuss Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon's report about Kosovo's status, expected in March.

On February 19, the top UN envoy for Kosovo met with Serbian officials in Belgrade to discuss a wide range of issues ahead of the UNSC meeting on Kosovo, which declared its independence from Serbia just over a year ago.

The UN website said that Ban Ki-moon's special representative Lamberto Zannier held meetings with president Boris Tadic, foreign minister Vuk Jeremic, and minister for Kosovo Goran Bogdanovic, according to information provided by the UN Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK), which is headed by Zannier.

They discussed a broad range of issues related to the Secretary-General's latest report on UNMIK, in which he emphasised the need for a reconfiguration of UNMIK after Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia in February 2008.

Zannier briefed the Serbian officials on the deployment of the European Union rule of law mission in Kosovo (EULEX), the reconfiguration of UNMIK, and his recent consultations in Brussels.

He emphasised his expectations that the EU, in particular through EULEX, would play an increasingly important role in helping to resolve practical issues.

The February 19 discussions followed similar consultations that Zannier held with authorities in Pristina earlier that month.

On March 4, Kosovo newspaper Zeri said that the UN six-point plan remained "dead for Pristina", but not for UN authorities.

The UNMIK administration was quite determined in its efforts to convince Pristina and Belgrade to hold technical talks, the paper said.

Zeri said that Zannier this week was initiating a new meeting with Kosovo leaders to inform them about the talks he had held with officials in Belgrade and Brussels.

"The plan of the SRSG is to inform the Government here in Kosovo as soon as possible about his meetings in Brussels and Belgrade," UNMIK spokesman
Alexander Ivanko said, Zeri reported.

He confirmed that on March 2 a meeting between Zannier and Deputy Prime Minister Hajredin Kuci had been cancelled.

Ivanko said that it was time for the two capitals to start technical consultations.

"UNMIK is ready to assist in any way that is acceptable for Pristina and Belgrade," Ivanko said.

The paper said that the government in Pristina was not only displeased with Zannier's efforts but was also ignoring them and not showing any sign of interest in UNMIK's mediation in eventual talks with Belgrade.

Kuci said: "We don't have a personal approach against Zannier. On the contrary, we respect his authority, we respect the mission of UNMIK as a successful one so far, but what we are saying is that UNMIK doesn't need a new mandate and it doesn't need to take over activities that will extend its life."

Unnamed sources from the government told Zeri that the meeting between Zannier and Kosovo leaders would be held after President Sejdiu's return from New York,
"either late this week or early next week".