UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hailed on Thursday an agreement signed by Kenya's political parties to form a coalition government.

    "The secretary-general warmly welcomes the 'Agreement on the Principles of Partnership of the Coalition Government' announced in Nairobi today," said a statement issued by Ban's press office.

    "The 'Acting together for Kenya' agreement marks a breakthrough toward resolving the crisis and gives hope to the people of Kenya for a return to democratic stability in their country," it said.

    In the statement, Ban commended President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga "for the spirit of compromise they demonstrated in reaching this accord."

    He also congratulated former UN chief Kofi Annan and the Panel of Eminent African Personalities "for their pivotal contribution in the mediation."

    Ban called for implementing the agreements and "coming to further accord on the longer-term issues which this crisis have brought to the forefront in Kenya."

    He also appealed for urgent measures to lesson tensions and overcome the "serious humanitarian situation" in the country.

    The Kenyan government and the opposition signed an agreement Thursday to form a coalition government which sees creation of a position of Prime Minister after a month of hard negotiations.