NATO Secretary-General says NATO troops have permission to stay in Kosovo and intervene to maintain security.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said on Thursday that this would take place in the event of an expected declaration of independence.

Defense ministers for the alliance agreed at talks held in Lithuania that the existing UN Security Council resolution 1244, would continue to justify NATO's presence in Kosovo, if the ethnic Albanian majority proclaims independence, which is expected within weeks, Reuters reported.

Western powers have indicated they will back such a move.

"Yes, 1244 is the basis and will remain the basis for the NATO presence," NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer told a news conference.

This is while Serbia's biggest ally on Kosovo, Russia, said on Wednesday that NATO would be in violation of its UN mandate. It cited as an example for instance, an intervention to put down protests by the territory's Serb minority against a declaration of independence.

The Kosovo Force (KFOR) is a NATO Peacekeeping led international force that is responsible for establishing a safe and secure environment in Kosovo, a province of Serbia which has been under UN administration since 1999. It has about 17,000 troops based around the province. Its commanders have said they are prepared to deal with any outbreak of violence.

De Hoop Scheffer also indicated NATO would have a role in training a future Kosovo security force, but he said any such move would have to wait until its status had been determined.

SM/HAR