Dili – The UN will respect its engagement with East Timor and has no plans for an anticipated reduction or withdrawal of its civilian team and peacekeeping forces, Dili's UN ambassador said Thursday in New York.

Jose Luis Guterres, in comments to reporters after a Security Council meeting, said all participants in the session had backed "the continuation of the UN presence and its peacekeeping operations" in East Timor.

"I believe they all defend the idea that the established program and calendar be maintained without alteration and as approved", Guterres said.

Before the Security Council meeting, there had been diplomatic speculation that given Dili's successes in consolidating its institutions and security that the UN might be tempted to scale down its engagement ahead of time.

The current UNMISET mission, headed by Indian diplomat Sharma Kamalesh, has a mandate through mid-2004. Diplomats said it would likely be extended by the Security Council at a meeting in May. Thursday's Security Council meeting ended without any resolution or formal statement on East Timor, but diplomats told Lusa such had no special significance.