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Breakthrough in Macedonia Talks Announced
Western officials helping mediate Macedonia's peace talks said Wednesday that there had been a breakthrough on the contentious issue of whether the Albanian language is officially recognized in the troubled Balkan country.
U.S. envoy James Pardew and his European Union counterpart, Francois Leotard, declined to offer details on the new proposal. The deal only goes into effect if there is progress on ethnic Albanian demands for broader autonomy for local police departments.
"This is a significant development in the negotiating process. The language (issue) has always been the toughest issue and now we have both parties agreeing," Pardew said.
The peace talks had dragged into a third week over the demands of ethnic Albanian leaders that Albanian become the second official language, together with Macedonian.
Before the announcement of a deal, Western sources close to the talks had said that the Macedonians agreed to give the Albanian language equal status with Macedonian in certain regions, but ethnic Albanian leaders insisted that the rule be applied throughout the country.
The government, dominated by Macedonians, had expressed reservations on the use of the Albanian language, considering it part of a strategy to carve out and control areas where the restive minority lives and where the rebels have already seized chunks of territory. As much as one-third of Macedonia's population of 2 million are ethnic Albanian.
The talks adjourned until Friday.
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