Senior NATO officials led by alliance chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer on Tuesday praised the `calm` security situation in Kosovo during a visit to the newly independent Balkan state.

Scheffer, accompanied by members of the North Atlantic Council (NAC) -- on its first visit to Kosovo since the territory seceded from Serbia in February -- said NATO-led peacekeepers (KFOR) would `continue to guarantee a safe and secure environment all over Kosovo.`

`We made clear that KFOR remains committed to the security of all Kosovars,` Scheffer said.

Calling the security situation in Kosovo `calm,` Scheffer insisted that KFOR`s `role has not changed since the declaration of independence.`

The council of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO`s top decision-making body, is chaired by Scheffer and comprises the alliance`s 26 permanent representatives.

Upon their arrival in Kosovo, the NATO delegation was briefed by Italian General Giuseppe Emilio Gay, the commander of the KFOR mission of around 16,000 international peacekeepers.

The NATO officials also held talks with Kosovo Albanian leaders in Pristina, representatives of ethnic minorities and the international civilian presence in Kosovo.

Scheffer said NATO would assist Pristina `in the creation of a new democratic, multiethnic and civilian-controlled Kosovo security force` which `is in the interest of stability and security of Kosovo.`

The delegation`s visit comes during intensifying diplomatic talks about the deployment of a European Union police and justice mission (EULEX) in Kosovo, which Brussels hopes to have fully in place by early December.

Belgrade, which staunchly opposes the independence of ethnic Albanian-majority Kosovo, says it would accept EULEX if its deployment is approved by the UN Security Council, where it has Russia`s backing.

Envoys of the European Union and the United States have been engaged for several months in negotiations with the governments of Kosovo and Serbia in a bid to get both sides to agree on the deployment.

Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic told AFP last week that the discussions were in the `final stage.`

The issue is likely to top the agenda on Wednesday when, according to Serbia`s presidency, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband is to meet in Belgrade with Cvetkovic, President Boris Tadic and Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic.

Miliband is also due to travel to Kosovo, according to the British embassy in Belgrade.

On Monday, Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said his government opposed the deployment if the EU mission viewed Kosovo`s status as neutral, as sought by Serbia.

`EULEX will be deployed on the whole territory of the Republic of Kosovo without making any conditions,` Thaci told reporters.

To date, Kosovo`s independence has been recognised by 52 countries including the United States and most EU member states, among them Britain.