Remarks at Press Conference to Mark UNMIK's First Six Months in Kosovo.

I think it's a happy coincidence that my first visit to Kosovo coincides with the six-month mark of this UNMIK mission. It is indeed six months ago that the Security Council passed resolution 1244, which, as you know, constitutes the guiding document for the UN mission here. It is no doubt one of the most complex, if not the most complex, mission ever undertaken by the UN. When you hear my colleagues reporting about what has been accomplished over the last six months, you will all recognize what a great deal was done for this time period. Not to say that there isn't still a lot to be done, but compared with six months ago, all the parts of UNMIK have quite a bit to show for their efforts. I would like to underline just a few points. First, that this mission continues to enjoy the very strong support of the UN, the Secretary-General, the Security Council, all the international organizations that are associated with your presence here, and indeed of the international community as a whole. The interest that was very high six months ago continues to be extremely high and there's a lot of support for UNMIK.

The second point is that I am personally very impressed with the dedication of the UNMIK personnel, both the international staff and the Kosovar staff. Launching a mission like that is a very daunting task and if we have been able to accomplish what we have accomplished it's because a lot of people have worked very hard and I want to pay tribute to them this morning.

I am also very pleased with the cooperation that I am witnessing among the various organizations that form UNMIK. As you know this is the first time in the history of the UN that a mandate has to be delivered not only through the UN's own means but also through other organizations like the EU and the OSCE. We are indeed making history in terms of how we are working together. We also have excellent relations with KFOR. I am very impressed and very pleased with this.

My last point will be to say that in accomplishing our mission, Bernard Kouchner and his colleagues have put a lot of emphasis on working in close interaction and cooperation with the Kosovar people and I think it is essential to the success of the mission. I want to express my support and admiration to Bernard and his team for the work they have done.