Visa ban plan for ethnic Albanians

Macedonian soldiers have clashed with ethnic Albanian rebels since February

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- European Union leaders have compiled a list of ethnic Albanian rebel names under a proposal to impose travel restrictions on them.

The 15 foreign ministers attending their monthly meeting in Brussels on Monday are discussing placing visa bans on 30 prominent rebel leaders as part of efforts to prevent the Macedonian troubles from escalating.

The move comes despite a cease-fire in the former Yugoslav republic which has been holding despite Western concerns about troop movement and strengthening on both sides.

Peace talks, brokered by the EU and the United States, are still continuing.

The U.S. has also drawn up a similar list banning some known rebels from entering its territory. It has also tried to clamp down on U.S. citizens from the Albanian Diaspora financing the five-month insurgency in Macedonia.

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But some EU foreign ministers fear that a travel ban at this stage could undermine delicate negotiations.

One EU diplomat told Reuters: "The problem is that if we implement these visa restrictions (against the rebels) we lose any chance we might have to influence them."

He added that "not all" member states are ready to approve the blacklist on Monday.

Talks between the Macedonian government and ethnic Albanian parties continued over the weekend, and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana was due to report to the meeting on the state of negotiations.

A political deal could trigger the deployment of about 3,000 NATO troops in a British-led operation to oversee the disarmament of the rebels.

Progress amid tense talks

An ethnic Albanian leader was positive about the talks, saying they were close to a peace deal to end five months of conflict.

The ethnic Albanians, who make up a third of the country's population, want improved civil rights.

Peace talks over the past seven days between Macedonian politicians, ethnic Albanians and international diplomats have almost resulted in an agreement.

"We are making significant progress, pretty fast," Menduh Thaci, a top representative of the large ethnic Albanian minority said.

"We are close to an agreement," Thaci told reporters, referring to a Western proposal for constitutional and legal reforms that would give ethnic Albanians more power and broader rights.

"We have resolved many issues and we are on a good path to finish the job," he said.

Macedonian representatives declined to comment after Sunday's talks, The Associated Press reported.

U.S. envoy James Pardew and European Union envoy Francois Leotard also declined to comment.

Thaci's optimistic comments came just hours after Western officials close to the talks described the negotiations as difficult.

"Everybody's still on board," said one diplomat who asked not to be identified. But he said the talks were "intensive and difficult."

The peace deal would sanction the use of Albanian as an official language and provide for state-funded higher education in Albanian, AP reported.

It would introduce quotas for proportional representation in the army courts and other bodies and give ethnic Albanians a degree of self-rule by granting local governments broader authority.

While the rebels are not represented at the talks, they are expected to honour any agreement reached by the ethnic Albanian political leaders.