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BRUSSELS, Feb 17 (Reuters) - NATO said on Sunday it would deal firmly with any violence in Kosovo after the breakaway province declared independence from Serbia and that all parties involved needed to show restraint.

The military alliance said it would continue to provide security in Kosovo, where some 17,000 troops serve in the NATO peace force KFOR.

"During this sensitive period, KFOR will respond swiftly and firmly against anyone who might resort to violence in Kosovo," NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said in a statement, urging all parties involved to exercise "the maximum restraint and moderation".

"All parties should recognise that KFOR will continue to fulfil its responsibility for a safe and secure environment throughout the territory of Kosovo ... unless the (U.N.) Security Council decides otherwise," he said.

"KFOR will continue to provide security for all citizens of Kosovo, majority and minority alike, in an impartial manner, just as before," de Hoop Scheffer added.

NATO ambassadors will meet on Monday to assess the situation, the statement said.

Alliance defence ministers agreed at talks in Lithuania earlier this month that U.N. Security Council resolution 1244 would continue to justify NATO's presence in Kosovo if the ethnic Albanian majority proclaimed independence.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia on Sunday, ending a long chapter in the bloody breakup of Yugoslavia. (Reporting by Mark John and Dale Hudson; editing by Julien Ponthus)

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