Ruehe told a German television news show that Germany would be ready for action despite the general elections scheduled for September 27.

``I cannot say if it will happen in September,'' he said. ``But, if it were to be the case, we cannot say `We do not have the time, we are in the middle of the election campaign.' On the contrary, Germany will take on its responsibilities''.

Any intervention would have ``a sufficient legal basis,'' he added. ``Everyone must be convinced of it. This will be the object of NATO discussions and we will go to the German parliament''.

The news of a possible NATO intervention in Kosovo follows rumours that Russia might be willing to withdraw its Opposition and agree to a UN mandate on military intervention in Kosovo.

Russia is thought by some sources to be negotiating apossible common declaration on Kosovo which could go as far as a resolution to authorise military intervention.

Earlier on Friday a German defence ministry spokesman said that ``intense negotiations'' were underway on the subject at the United Nations in New York.

But Russia's representative at the UN, Sergei Lavrov, rejected all the speculation on Friday. He told AFP that there was no discussion of a UN resolution to authorise the use of force in Kosovo.

Russian President Boris Yeltsin has until now opposed the use of force to resolve the conflict, which has left around 800 dead and thousands homeless since Belgrade sent in troops to crush an uprising by ethnic Albanian separatists in February.

Yelstin has threatened to use Russia's veto as a permanent member of the UN Security Council to block any such move.

Ruehe said there was no need for a UN mandate for military intervention in Kosovo and criticised German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel for defending this position.

Meanwhile Washington'senvoy for Kosovo Christopher Hill harshly criticised European powers Friday, accusing them of ``turning their backs'' on the Balkans.

Hill charged that leaders in western Europe were ``toasting this new currency and discussing a united Europe'' while doing nothing to help end the bloodshed in Kosovo.

``There are other places in Europe such as the Balkans where these people who talk about a united Europe have simply turned their backs on,'' Hill said in an address at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

``There is no united Europe without the Balkans,'' he asserted.

France, Germany and nine other European countries are set to launch the single European currency in January.

The envoy, who is working to hammer out an interim accord between Albanians in Kosovo and Belgrade, said the conflict in Kosovo was ``absolutely the worst I've seen and I've seen Bosnia.''

Hundreds have died since February in fighting between Serbian forces and Albanian separatists in the South Serbianprovince.

The United States has said it does not support independence for the Albanian majority in Kosovo but is pressing for an agreement that would grant them a high degree of autonomy.

Under the accord that Hill is brokering, the Albanians in Kosovo and Belgrade would agree to delay negotiations on the status of the province for at least three years.

During that period, Belgrade would agree to hold elections and set up autonomous institutions for the Albanians including an executive, a representative government and security arrangements, Hill said.

But the envoy emphasized that Kosovo faces a humanitarian crisis that will have to be dealt with in the coming weeks to allow the return of some 230,000 refugees.

Many Albanians fear for their safety if they return to villages that have come under repeated attack by Serbian forces seeking to flush out separatist fighters, Hill said.

In the effort to address the humanitarian crisis, Washington has won some support from Moscow, which Hill said waslosing patience with Belgrade.

``The Russians have also begun to push very hard on the humanitarian situation,'' Hill said.

``They are very much in agreement with us and others on the need for a political solution and restitution of the humanitarian situation,'' Washington's Kosovo envoy Christopher Hill said.