Nato says its weapons collection programme is on course

The Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski, is quoted as saying he's willing to invite a force of 350 troops to deploy discretely to the areas of conflict in the north and north west.

Their task will be to protect western peace monitors.

The Macedonians had been insisting their army and police forces would guarantee their security, but that was unacceptable to the monitors themselves and was feared by the Albanians.

They have now handed in two thirds of the 3,000-plus weapons Nato aimed to collect and destroy.

No formal request has been put to Nato yet, but diplomatic sources in Skopje say a decision could be reached in days rather than weeks.

Problem solved

If so, it is one more problem solved, but there are others ahead, not least the continued presence of Macedonian paramilitaries close to sensitive areas and the fact that parliament has yet to pass a partial amnesty for rebels.

Lord Robertson has urged parliament to move quickly

It has also got to take a first reading of a set of constitutional changes favouring Macedonia's Albanian minority.

Without it Nato cannot begin the third and final phase of weapons collection.

Lord Robertson urged parliament to move quickly and described efforts by some hard-line Macedonian politicians to call a referendum on the changes they are being asked to approve as a "spoiler", designed to derail the process.