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Western Envoys And Macedonian Leaders Resume Peace Talks
SKOPJE, July 14 (News Agencies) - Talks between western envoys and Macedonian politicians resumed on Saturday, with party leaders saying they had several remarks to make about a package aimed at ending the conflict between the army and ethnic Albanian separatists.
"We have finished analyzing the documents and we have several remarks to present" to US and EU envoys James Pardew and Francois Leotard, said Azis Pollozhani, a leader of the Albanian Party for Democracy and Prosperity (PDP).
Calling on Macedonian Slav parties to accept a compromise, Pollozhani said problems still had to be resolved, including the status of the Albanian language, the creation of a local police force and the mechanisms for a parliamentary vote.
Arben Xhaferi, the leader of the Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA), said "problems exist on the use of the language," that the Albanians want to see officially recognized, "because they have been making propositions that only go half way."
"A political solution must absolutely be found," he said, adding that "it also depends on the other side," a reference to the majority Slavs.
The meeting came amid signs of optimism that an agreement could be found soon to end the conflict, which has dragged on since February over what the separatists say is improved ethnic Albanian rights.
After meeting NATO officials on Friday, Defense Minister Vlado Buckovski said that a political package bolstering the large Albanian minority's rights could be agreed by the multi-ethnic coalition "before Sunday," opening the door to a NATO deployment of 3,000 troops.
He said the lightly-armed Atlantic alliance force could start moving in to oversee a rebel disarmament "within 10 days, counting from Thursday (July 12)."
Buckovski said an amnesty for the guerrillas would be declared "before the deployment, according to the peace plan" drawn up by President Boris Trajkovski.
But on Saturday, DPA vice-president Menduh Thaci said he did not think an agreement could be reached before Monday.
For its part, the Macedonian nationalist party VMRO-DPMNE said that Macedonians were "attached to two principles: state unity and the refusal of consensual democracy" which the Albanians want.
"We have several remarks to make about these two themes," said party spokesman Georgi Trendafilov.
US envoy Pardew admitted Friday that the ongoing political negotiations were problematic, but that the leaders have a complete package for final talks that they have been studying.
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