The UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, welcomed the release yesterday of two British policemen serving with the UN administration in Kosovo. They were arrested in Montenegro by Yugoslav forces on July 31st.
A spokesman said: "The Secretary-General believes that the release of the two British police officers is encouraging, and he calls for an early release of the remaining Canadian and Dutch nationals still under detention."
The Britons were on leave from a police training school in Kosovo when arrested with two Canadians. A lawyer representing the Britons said the criminal investigation against them and one of the Canadians, Mr Liam Hall, had been terminated.
Four Dutch men were also arrested in July on suspicion of plotting to kill Mr Slobodan Milosevic.
The overthrow of Mr Milosevic did not mean that Yugoslavia could automatically recover the seat at the United Nations that has been vacant for eight years, the UN spokesman said yesterday.
The UN General Assembly declared the seat vacant after the old Yugoslavia had fallen apart and Serbia and Montenegro had proclaimed themselves the new Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.