French Defense Minister Herve Morin made an inspection tour of Kosovo on Monday, sources in Kosovo's capital Pristina said.

Morin visited the 2,800-strong French troops which constitute the NATO-led peacekeeping force in Kosovo KFOR, a KFOR spokesman said.

He was later briefed by the commander of KFOR German General Roland Kather on the current situation in Kosovo.

Morin's visit comes as the UN Security Council is due to debate a resolution on Kosovo's future status based on UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari's report which proposed internationally supervised independence for Kosovo, a move backed by the United States, most EU countries and Kosovo Albanian leaders but rejected by Serbia and its traditional ally Russia.

Kosovo is patrolled by some 16,500 KFOR soldiers since June 1999 when Kosovo was put under UN administration after NATO air strikes halted Serbian crackdown on insurgent Kosovo Albanians.