EU bid to boost Macedonia talks

Solana "wants to support the negotiations," his spokeswoman says

OHRID, Macedonia -- One of Europe's top envoys is returning to Macedonia to boost peace talks aimed at ending fighting between government forces and ethnic Albanian rebels.

Meanwhile, ethnic Albanian rebels launched several gun and mortar attacks against Macedonian police positions near the northwestern city of Tetovo, The Associated Press quoted the former Yugoslav republic's state-run radio as reporting.

There were no reports of casualties in Saturday's reported attacks, which strained an already shaky truce signed last month to allow the talks to start.

The talks are taking place at the lake resort of Ohrid. EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, who has visited Macedonia several times over the past few months, was flying from Ukraine to Macedonia on Sunday to join the talks, according to his spokeswoman Christina Gallach.

"He wants to support the negotiations at this particular moment," she said. "We hope for final progress as soon as possible."

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But Gallach would not say whether Solana's visit meant that Macedonian and ethnic Albanian politicians were close to a final agreement.

"I'd like to be very cautious," she said. "Giving specific timelines might not be the most appropriate thing at the moment. The key thing is to be supportive and helpful."

One of the mediators at the talks said an agreement might be possible on Sunday.

Max van der Stoel of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe said Solana would try to help to find a solution.

Asked if he expected an agreement on Sunday, he told reporters after Saturday's talks: "I would hope so."

But a Western source, also speaking after the talks, said the two sides were still far apart on the main remaining issue -- policing in Macedonia. Journalist Juliette Terzieff also told CNN that although sources had told they were making progress in the talks there was little likelihood of an imminent deal.

"The Macedonians are unwilling to give much and the Albanians are demanding a lot," the source told Reuters.

A senior Macedonian official also played down prospects for an imminent breakthrough. "I don't expect that we'll see any signing tomorrow," the official said by telephone.

"It's neither that there is major progress, nor that the talks are stuck. Things are moving slowly along."

A source from one of the Albanian parties at the talks, the PDP, struck a more optimistic note, suggesting that an agreement on the police issue at least might be reached.

"We have not finished yet but I think that tomorrow the police document might be agreed," he told Reuters.

The rival sides had been expected to debate on Saturday one of the most contentious parts of the peace plan: the composition and control of the police forces in ethnic Albanian communities.

Macedonians are resisting ethnic Albanian demands that the police be decentralised and the minority be allowed to elect local police chiefs in areas where they dominate, according to The Associated Press.

A tentative agreement on the use of the Albanian language was agreed at the talks in Ohrid on Wednesday, removing one of the key sticking points in negotiations.

As the talks have continued, both sides have accused each other of violating the cease-fire.

On Friday, the Defence Ministry accused rebels of "serious assaults" around Tetovo, while rebels said Macedonian forces had shelled a nearby village.

But a rebel commander, code named Leka, in turn accused the security forces of shelling around the village of Neprosteno near Tetovo.

"The cease-fire doesn't apply to the Macedonian police forces," he told Reuters.

There were no reports of injuries in either of the attacks.

On Thursday Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski insisted there could be no lasting peace until all the ethnic Albanian rebels had disarmed.

The rebels say they are fighting for increased rights for ethnic Albanians, while the government says they are "terrorists" intent on breaking up the country.

The ethnic Albanian leaders want the status of their language to be enhanced, but some on the government side fear it would be a step that could contribute to the break-up of the country.

If a peace deal is reached, about 3,000 NATO troops would be deployed to help disarm the rebels.