ZAGREB (AFP) -- Talks on the final status of the Serbian province of Kosovo could continue into 2007, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan said in an interview published.

Negotiations led by UN special envoy Marrti Ahtisaari have been deadlocked for a month.

The 90 percent ethnic Albanian majority in the province seeks independence, a demand rejected by Serbia which is not prepared to offer more than a wide degree of self-rule.

"As far as the talks are concerned, it is not ruled out that they carry on into 2007," Annan told the Croatian daily Vjesnik.

Last month Ahtisaari said that eight months of hard negotiations had led nowhere and suggested that a deal be imposed.

He was due to present his conclusions to the contact group, made up of Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Russia by the end of this year but Annan suggested the deadline might not be met.

"Ahtisaari must be careful that the issue of the final status of Kosovo is not used for electoral purposes," Annan said, referring to the Serbian government's plan to hold an early general election in December.

"The proposals for Kosovo must be put forward at the right moment. That is the key," said Annan.

In mid-October Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, whose country holds the rotating European Union presidency, indicated that the proposals on the final status of Kosovo could be delayed by "some weeks or months".

Last Sunday 53 percent of Serbian voters backed in a referendum a new constitution which declares Kosovo an inalienable part of Serbia.