UN confirms: No transfer of jurisdiction to EU

UNMIK will continue in Kosovo until UN Security Council decides otherwise, it was confirmed in New York. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Brendan Varma spoke to the BBC tonight to deny EU mission to Kosovo chief Pieter Feith's claim that the transfer of jurisdiction from UNMIK to EULEX has begun. UN confirms: No transfer of jurisdiction to EU "At this point the UN mission has not entered the transition period. We are still on the ground, as we have been since 1999. UNMIK will perform the duties entrusted to it with Resolution 1244, until UN Security Council decided otherwise," Varma specified. Russia is strongly opposed to the deployment of EULEX and just as official Belgrade, considers the mission illegal. Varma also reminded that only the UN Security Council can make a decision to end UNMIK's mandate in the province, acknowledging that there are "divisions on the issue in this body". "We would of course welcome agreement on this problem, but the Council is at the moment deeply divided. The secretary-general's position is that our mission will continue in Kosovo until the Council tells them to stop," he said, and added UNMIK was a "unique mission precisely because its mandate has no determined deadline". "The Security Council decides on the end of this mission – in other words, we will have to wait for its signal," Varma repeated. As for Joachim Ruecker, UNMIK's chief in Kosovo, he has been told to continue with his job and do everything to ensure stability in the province, according to Ban's spokesman. He also confirmed that no new UN SC session on Kosovo has been scheduled. Russia will preside over the Council in March, and it will put together the agenda, it has been confirmed. Whether and in what format the Kosovo crisis will be discussed, is up to Moscow. Varma also denied that Ban had sent a letter to Brussels to officially inform the EU about the division in the Security Council concerning the legality of EULEX. But the BBC quotes its sources on the East River who said the EU is "persistently asking the secretary-general to personally approve UNMIK's replacement with EULEX".

UN confirms: No transfer of jurisdiction to EU

"At this point the UN mission has not entered the transition period. We are still on the ground, as we have been since 1999. UNMIK will perform the duties entrusted to it with Resolution 1244, until UN Security Council decided otherwise," Varma specified.

Russia is strongly opposed to the deployment of EULEX and just as official Belgrade, considers the mission illegal.

Varma also reminded that only the UN Security Council can make a decision to end UNMIK's mandate in the province, acknowledging that there are "divisions on the issue in this body".

"We would of course welcome agreement on this problem, but the Council is at the moment deeply divided. The secretary-general's position is that our mission will continue in Kosovo until the Council tells them to stop," he said, and added UNMIK was a "unique mission precisely because its mandate has no determined deadline".

"The Security Council decides on the end of this mission – in other words, we will have to wait for its signal," Varma repeated.

As for Joachim Ruecker, UNMIK's chief in Kosovo, he has been told to continue with his job and do everything to ensure stability in the province, according to Ban's spokesman.

He also confirmed that no new UN SC session on Kosovo has been scheduled.

Russia will preside over the Council in March, and it will put together the agenda, it has been confirmed. Whether and in what format the Kosovo crisis will be discussed, is up to Moscow.

Varma also denied that Ban had sent a letter to Brussels to officially inform the EU about the division in the Security Council concerning the legality of EULEX.

But the BBC quotes its sources on the East River who said the EU is "persistently asking the secretary-general to personally approve UNMIK's replacement with EULEX".