U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Friday appointed a Norwegian diplomat to carry out a comprehensive review of the status of Kosovo, where the majority ethnic Albanian population wants independence from Serbia, dpa reported. Kai Eide, Oslo's ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, will hold talks with the parties to the conflict and the international community to assess the situation and "possible next steps in the process," the U.N. said. Eide's task also includes looking into preconditions for launching "the future status process" in the U.N.-administered region. The U.N. Security Council has been considering granting Kosovo autonomy, a move Belgrade strongly opposes. Kosovo now has its own government composed of ethnic Albanians and Serbs, aided by a U.N. mission that began administrating the territory in 1999 after NATO went to war to stop Serb attacks on Albanians. The council has called for a "multiethnic, stable and democratic society founded on the rule of law" in Kosovo. --SP 2145 Local Time 1845 GMT
