Thank you, Madame Chairperson.

We welcome OSCE's decision to provide additional funding which will allow for the creation of a credible and well-documented Kosovar voter registry, and which will allow municipal elections to be held this year.

As we all know, UN Security Council Resolution 1244 directs UNMiK to hold free and fair elections in Kosovo. This Permanent Council decision will allow the OSCE to do its part in implementing this element of Security Council Resolution 1244. With the funding now made available, we urge the OSCE Kosovo mission to move quickly to initiate the registration process.

Such a civil/voter registry is an important protection against fraud and a means of safeguarding the voting rights of displaced Kosovars -- including Kosovar Serbs.

Unfortunately, by adopting the position that it will not allow registration to occur on territory it administers, Belgrade once again is making the Kosovar Serb population pay the price for Milosevic's failings.

As Ambassador Everts stated recently, the international community cannot allow Milosevic to hold elections in Kosovo hostage to his whims.

The OSCE and UNMiK must remain committed to ensuring participation of Kosovar Serbs in elections. But in the meantime, election preparations also must continue apace.

On another point, Madame Chairperson, we strongly condemn the renewed outbreak of violence in Mitrovica yesterday. The situation in Mitrovica is explosive, and we reiterate our demands on all parties to refrain from violent actions. We must not allow this situation to be exploited by extremists on any side.

We condemn the actions of these extremists, who are using bloodshed to undermine the cause of reconciliation. At the same time, we praise the efforts of KFOR peacekeepers, UN and Kosovar police, and UNMiK and OSCE staff members who are all laboring together in a joint effort to restore a town which has been torn apart.

In this past week, a Russian member of UNMiK was killed and more than a dozen French peacekeepers have been wounded in Kosovo. These tragic events offer a stark reminder of the heavy price we sometimes pay to advance the cause of peace and reconciliation. But they also reaffirm the multinational character of our joint effort, and the need for all of us fully to support this venture.

KFOR, UNMiK and OSCE members are all serving in harm's way at this very moment, and we owe it to them to make every possible effort to restore law and order in the region.

Safety of individuals and groups is perhaps the most basic human freedom. The OSCE has been at the forefront of efforts to promote stability and restore the rule of law, through police training, human rights monitoring, and judicial support. This week's events have shown once again how vital this work is.

Thank you, Madame Chairperson.