Skopje - Western efforts to unite leaders of Macedonia's divided communities and avert civil war faltered yesterday. A senior government source said peace talks had "completely stalled".
However, diplomats cautioned that the government stance was probably a tactic to put pressure on Macedonia's Albanian politicians.
A small crowd of angry Macedonians converged on the building where the talks were being held, protesting that peace terms being considered were too generous to Albanians.
In Brussels, meanwhile, EU foreign ministers agreed to impose travel restrictions on ethnic Albanian rebels from Macedonia, but said the union would wait to assess progress in the talks before enforcing them.