UK offers Macedonia military aid

Robin Cook to meet Macedonian and Albanian leaders

SKOPJE, Macedonia -- Britain has offered military equipment to Macedonia following its month-long campaign to put down an assault by ethnic Albanian rebels.

Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said Britain would give Macedonia body armour, mine and bomb clearing equipment and global positioning systems to help its ill-equipped army.

But he said in return, the Skopje government should address the "legitimate aspirations" of Macedonia's Albanian minority.

"This is a practical expression of our commitment to assisting Macedonia in defeating terrorism and the poisonous political perspective that Albanians and Slavs cannot live in the same state," Cook said of the military aid on Thursday.

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He warned that the time left for a political settlement might not be long and said it was important to prevent the rebels' support base from growing among Albanians, who account for around one-third of the population.

"(The Macedonian government) are now in a position of strength and this is the time to take a political step towards the legitimate aspirations of the Albanian population," Cook added.

"There is always a threat they (the rebels) could come back. Let's act now," he said.

Cook was in Macedonia for talks with President Boris Trajkovski. He was also due to travel to Tetovo, the focus of last month's confrontations, to meet Albanian leaders and press them to resolve their differences with the government through dialogue.

Ethnic Albanians want to change Macedonia's constitution, which names the country's Slavs as the primary nation. They have also called for greater language rights and decentralisation of government.

Slav leaders fear a backlash from their own constituency if they concede too much.

Talks to address the ethnic tensions got off to a poor start this week, marred by a boycott by the main Albanian opposition party and Slav protests against concessions.

The talks follow an armed rebellion along Macedonia's northern border with the Yugoslav province of Kosovo by the ethnic Albanian National Liberation Army.

Macedonian forces said last month they had quelled the rebellion by guerrillas who they said were trying to break up the country with violence.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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