Ethnic Albanian rebels have agreed to hand their weapons to NATO soldiers to be deployed in Macedonia in a big step towards ending a six-month rebellion, diplomatic and rebel sources said yesterday.
The political leader of the National Liberation Army (NLA), Mr Ali Ahmeti, signed the deal in talks with NATO brokers yesterday after receiving assurances of an amnesty and of political reforms to help the ethnic Albanian minority, which makes up a third of the population.
"Things are falling into place, but the jigsaw isn't completed yet," a diplomatic source said of plans for NATO to deploy up to 3,500 soldiers for 30 days to collect arms surrendered by guerrillas.
A source close to Mr Ahmeti confirmed that the deal had been done. "Mr Ahmeti agreed on a disarmament document," he said. The rebels would hand their arms to the soldiers.
Under the deal, President Boris Trajkovski was offering an assurance that rebels would not be prosecuted - an amnesty is one of the rebels' main demands.
Only those liable for prosecution at the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague would be excluded from the amnesty. "They wouldn't have signed an agreement to disarm unless the amnesty was looking good," one of the diplomatic sources said.
An amnesty law has to be formally agreed by the Macedonian parliament.
NATO has said it could start deployment within 48 hours of a green light from NATO nations and that the 3,500-strong force would be on the ground within two weeks.
They plan to stay for 30 days and then leave.
A main barrier to deployment of the troops remains the implementation of a viable ceasefire. The two sides agreed a truce from Sunday but it has been punctuated by violations.
In Brussels, the European Commission pledged financial support for Macedonia's conflict-hit economy yesterday but said its assistance would be strictly tied to implementation of a peace agreement.
The EU External Relations Commissioner, Mr Chris Patten, said the peace accord offered a way out of the crisis in Macedonia and gave its people the prospect of steadily closer ties with the rest of Europe.
Mr Patten said the EU Commission was ready to honour its pledge to back a political agreement with substantial financial and practical help.
"The country's economy is now in a parlous state. We are willing to contribute, along with other donors, to putting things right. But it is important to be clear - our help is inextricably linked to the agreement's implementation," Mr Patten said. "The faster the agreement is implemented, the more rapidly our assistance will flow. So all parties must now to stick to the timetable the agreement envisages," he added.
He said the EU Commission planned to organise, together with the World Bank, a donors' meeting for Macedonia.
It would be held as soon as constitutional amendments had been formally adopted by Macedonia's Assembly, which is due to happen by the end of September.
"We are setting in hand immediately preparations for that meeting, and contacting donors to encourage them to provide additional financial assistance," Mr Patten said.
As soon as security conditions permitted, the Commission would arrange for a rapid assessment of the damage inflicted by the conflict and contribute to immediate efforts to repair and rebuild damaged homes, Mr Patten added.
The Commission had €2.5 million available immediately for that purpose, he said.
Commission officials were drawing up a package of €30 million of additional assistance for Macedonia from its aid programme for the Balkans. This was on top of the €42 million euros already earmarked for Macedonia for 2001.
This money would be used for reconstruction, local infrastructure improvements and local government reform.