A key session of the Macedonian parliament, in which deputies had been expected to discuss the introduction of a state of war, has been delayed, government spokesman Mr Antonio Milososki.
The European Union has been pressuring Skopje not to declare the strict measures, which would give President Boris Trajkovski sweeping powers to combat ethnic Albanian guerrillas but which the EU fears could raise tensions to the breaking point in the fragile multi-ethnic state.
Mr Milososki said the session had been postponed while Trajkovski consulted leaders of the various political parties on the possibility of introducing the emergency measures.
It had been originally scheduled for Friday but was delayed at the request of ethnic Albanian parties.
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana was participating in the talks, officials said.
The country's main ethnic Albanian party, the Democratic Party of Albanians, said earlier it would leave the government coalition if a state of war was declared.
According to the constitution, a proposal for a state of war can be put before parliament by the government, the president or a group of at least 30 deputies.
If the parliament is not able to convene, the president may declare a state of war, a decision which can later be voted on when the assembly is in a position to meet.
The army has been fighting ethnic Albanian guerrillas in the north of the country since Thursday, just over a month after Skopje said it had broken the rebels after heavy fighting in March.
AFP