27.10.2005 at 14:05

The expected nomination of Martti Ahtisaari, a former Finnish president, as UN mediator in talks about Kosovo's future has been delayed, Austria Presse Agentur (APA), an Austrian news agency, reported Wednesday.

It quoted a Russian diplomat as saying in New York that Russia wanted a "clearer mandate" for the mediator, something only the UN Security Council can do.

Kofi Annan, the UN secretary general, had been expected to name Mr Ahtisaari on Thursday or Friday.

Crisis Management Initiative (CMI), Mr Ahtisaari's peace-brokering bureau, told the Finnish News Agency (STT) that it had no further information.

The Russian diplomat told APA that he had nothing against Mr Ahtisaari getting the job as such.

He added however that the fact that Mr Ahtisaari was a temperamental person meant that his mandate would have to be clearly defined.

/STT/