BRUSSELS, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on Monday pledged support for a new Serbian government aspiring deeper ties with the military alliance, saying it will enhance relations with such a government.

    "NATO looks forward to the formation of a government committed to ever-deeper Euro-Atlantic integration," NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said Monday in a statement.

    "The alliance will continue to work with the new government, when it is formed, to further deepen our good relations, including through the Partnership for Peace," he said.

    On the Kosovo issue, the NATO chief called on the Serbian leadership to demonstrate "moderation, flexibility and pragmatism with regard to the Kosovo status process."

    "Through KFOR (the NATO troops in Kosovo), NATO will continue to ensure a safe and secure environment for all communities in Kosovo through this sensitive period," he said.

    Preliminary results showed that the nationalist Serbian Radical Party took the most votes in Sunday's elections, winning 28.3 percent of ballots.

    The pro-West Democratic Party of President Boris Tadic got 22.7percent and Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica's Democratic Party of Serbia took 16.4 percent.

    The Democratic Party and its allies have said they will begin negotiations to form a coalition cabinet as soon as possible. Despite being the single biggest party in polls, the Radical Party, which opposes rapid integration with NATO and the European Union, may not be able to form a government.

    Kosovo, a legal province of Serbia, has been administered by the United Nations since the NATO bombing campaign in 1999.

    The ethnic Albanian majority in the province wants full independence, but Serbia is keen to keep it part of the country, only agreeing to offer broad autonomy. All the three main Serbian parties have vowed to hold on to Kosovo.

    Martti Ahtisaari, the UN special envoy for Kosovo, is due to presents his recommendations for its future status in the coming days. He is expected to suggest giving Kosovo "provisional independence" under EU rule leading to full sovereignty down the line.

    KFOR compromises some 17,000 soldiers and is responsible for preserving peace and security in the Serbian province of Kosovo.