"The UN secretary general is expected to launch this process, which will remain within UN channels, under the supervision of the UN Security Council," he said.

A UN plan to grant sovereignty to Kosovo, regardless of Serbia's objections, has been removed from the UN Security Council agenda under pressure from veto-wielding Russia, Serbia's long-standing ally.

The Contact Group, comprised of diplomats from the U.S., Britain, France, Italy, Germany and Russia, has agreed on 120 days of additional talks between Belgrade and Pristina.

Formally a part of Serbia and its historical heart, Kosovo has been a U.N. protectorate since 1999, when NATO air strikes ousted Serbian troops over the alleged ethnic cleansing of Albanian separatists. - RIA Novosti