"Any further delay or prolongation on this very important issue would have a very negative impact on all peace and security, not only in Kosovo, not only in the Balkans, but in the whole European situation," Ban said.
Speaking at a news conference following talks with Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu, the UN chief said he hoped the West and Russia would overcome differences on the future of the largely Albanian-populated province, which has been under UN protectorate since 1999.
The UN Security Council has been holding closed debates on a resolution drafted by Britain, the United States, and France giving Belgrade and Pristina four months for more talks before automatically granting independence to Kosovo.
It is the third draft resolution based on special envoy Martti Ahtisaari's plan to grant Kosovo independence without the prior consent of Serbia. Russia, a longtime ally of fellow Slavic Serbia, has insisted on a decision that would satisfy both Belgrade and Pristina, and threatened to veto a resolution setting the province on the path to independence.
Russia has said granting Kosovo sovereignty would violate Serbia's territorial integrity, setting a precedent for other breakaway regions, including in the former Soviet Union. It has also expressed concern about the future of the impoverished province's Serbs and other minorities, about 180,000 in all.
Kosovo Albanians have meanwhile warned they will take independence with their own hands.
Kosovo has been a UN protectorate since NATO's unsanctioned 78-day bombing campaign against the former Yugoslavia ended a war between Serb forces and Muslim Albanian separatists in 1999.
