[A shaky truce in Macedonia is punctured almost daily by exchanges of light fire between the Slav-dominated security forces and ethnic Albanian freedom fighters. Read photo caption below.]

WASHINGTON, (Islamweb & Agencies ) - NATO Secretary General George Robertson warned Wednesday that Macedonia was "close to civil war," and said that NATO was prepared to launch a disarmament mission potentially involving US troops.

Wednesday's collapse of five days of peace talks in Skopje that had sought to thrash out reforms to give the large Albanian minority greater rights, however, served to block a NATO troop deployment mission.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization had said member states would send some 3,000 soldiers to set up collection points for Albanian fighters' weapons under a partial amnesty proposal -- but only if the multi-ethnic government coalition first cut a political deal.
Robertson, speaking in Washington ahead of talks with US President George W. Bush, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and members of Congress, said his key message to all parties "is to recognize how serious the situation is and how to get an agreement to move forward."

"The (national unity) government of Macedonia ... knows what the stakes are, they know how close to civil war the country is at the present," he told reporters.

"That's why there are these heated and frustrating talks going on in Skopje, they know they have to bridge the divide between the two communities."

President Boris Trajkovski Wednesday pointed accusations at ethnic Albanian leaders, including that they are trying to install a "bi-national" federal state and of dramatically changing the Albanian position.

Democratic Party of Albanians leader Arben Xhaferi immediately hit back, saying Trajkovski was trying to demonize ethnic Albanians and "create a climate of paranoia."

Robertson said NATO was in the position to send forces "very quickly ... when the political situation becomes right."

Although NATO troops would be armed, they would not participate in any exercise seeking to lay down demarcation lines inside Macedonia, he said.

After meeting with US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Robertson said he had sent a letter to Trajkovski assuring him that "under no condition would we be involved in demarcation or partitioning."

Several countries have offered troops to the alliance's proposed disarmament mission, including a possible commitment from the United States in an apparent shift in position on the matter.

In remarks to the US Senate Wednesday, Powell said the United States could offer troops from among the 700 soldiers already deployed in Macedonia, though he emphasized a firm US commitment to the mission had yet to be given.

He said no NATO troops would be used for combat purposes.

"We are doing everything that has been asked of us so far, but we have not yet made any commitment to troops for the purpose of this potential disarmament mission because we really don't see a need to make such a contribution yet."

Rumsfeld said any decision on a commitment of US troops was up to the president, adding that "we are not at that stage."
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PHOTO CAPTION

A Macedonian soldier leans against sandbags at his observation post near the village of Ljubodrag June 20, 2001. Although Macedonian security forces and ethnic Albanian guerrillas called a cease-fire last week, the shaky truce is punctured almost daily by exchanges of light fire. NATO announced it was ordering military planners to ready a mission to collect and destroy arms from ethnic Albanian guerrillas as soon as a political agreement ends fighting in the republic. (Ognen Teofilovski/Reuters)
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