Nato to discuss Macedonia issues

There is Nato concern that unrest in Macedonia could spill over into neighbouring countries

By defence correspondent Jonathan Marcus

Nato foreign ministers are meeting in the Hungarian capital Budapest on Tuesday for talks that are likely to be overshadowed by the fighting in Macedonia.

Nato, along with the EU, has invested a considerable diplomatic effort to try to broker a deal for talks between the Macedonian government and ethnic Albanian rebel fighters, but so far these efforts have borne little fruit.

Robertson says the situation in Macedonia is worrying

Accompanied by the almost ritual concern that unrest in Macedonia could spill over into neighbouring countries, Nato foreign ministers are again meeting with the Balkans at the top of their agenda.

Lord Robertson, the Nato Secretary-General, described the situation there as very worrying for the region as a whole.

Failed mediations

All efforts at mediation seem to have failed to even open the path to dialogue between the Macedonian government and ethnic Albanian rebels.

One key hurdle to be overcome is an assurance given by two ethnic Albanian leaders to the rebel fighters which would reportedly give them a veto over any political agreement if it damaged their interests.

That agreement was brokered by the OSCE's special envoy, Robert Frowick, a step one diplomatic insider described as well-meaning but extremely rash.

All the evidence is that this idea was pursued without any real co-ordination with other groups involved in the peace effort, like the EU and Nato itself.

EU involvement

The EU's foreign-policy trouble-shooter, Javier Solana, spent Monday in Macedonia shuttling between the two sides.

He will give a report on his efforts to the meeting in Budapest.

Lord Robertson insisted once again that there could be no room at the negotiating table for those who had taken up violence.

Only those ethnic Albanians represented in the Macedonian parliament, who had a democratic mandate, could be included.