Top UN official to discuss Kosovo on a visit Belgrade this week

Guehenno's visit is aimed at defusing a series of tense issues between the UN mission in Kosovo and the Belgrade authorities, including problems in province's judiciary, customs, education and police, officials said.

However, the exact date of Guehenno's visit to Belgrade is yet to be defined, but UN diplomats said that the high-ranking official will arrive to the Serbian capital by the end of week. He will be the highest-ranking UN official to visit Belgrade since Kosovo's decision to unilaterally declare independence in February 17.

Talks between Belgrade officials and Guehenno will also cover the start of investigation on recent outbreak of violence in northern Kosovo's town of Mitrovica, including a series of controversial decisions made by UNMIK deputy chief Larry Rossin who ordered special police to arrest Serb demonstrators barricaded in a local court house.

The action of UN police triggered violent demonstrations which ended up with one Ukrainian policeman killed, and some 150 people, Serb demonstrators and members of international forces, injured.

The alleged use of rubber bullets, ammunition banned by the UN last summer, is also expected to be included into investigation, which will be run directly from UN's headquarters in New York.

Geuhenno's visit was agreed during the Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic's talks with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last week.

In addition, the chief of UN peacekeeping operation might come up with a clear answer about a decision-making process in UNMIK, as UN officials based in Pristina and New York spent a week in shifting responsibilities for recent unrest between two offices.

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