Leaders of Kosovo's main ethnic Albanian parties have reached a power sharing agreement that could open the door to self-government for the U.N.-administered province of Serbia.

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan welcomed the agreement, which ends three months of political deadlock.

The deal calls for Ibrahim Rugova to be appointed president. He leads the moderate Democratic League of Kosovo. Bajram Rexhepi, a senior member of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, would be prime minister.

Mr. Annan pledged his support to both men, who he says are committed to building a positive future for Kosovo.

Mr. Annan says the real work will begin after Kosovo's newly elected 120-member assembly gives the plan formal approval. The plan will be administered in conjunction with the United Nations and NATO.

The United Nations has administered Kosovo since July, 1999, when Western airstrikes forced former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to end his crackdown on the province's ethnic Albanian majority.

Email this article to a friend
Printer Friendly Version