Macedonia has agreed to allow a "relatively small" NATO-led force remain to protect international monitors once an Alliance mission leaves later this month, diplomats and officials said Sunday.
A senior Macedonian official confirmed plans to propose such a force, putting its size at 150-200 troops, while one Western diplomat said up to 1,000 armed soldiers would be deployed.
"But both sides are talking about a relatively small presence, less than four figures," the diplomat told AFP. "If this is what President (Boris) Trajkovski wants, we can probably sort it out."
The exact details of an accord, which marks a turnaround in the Skopje government's position, have yet to be finalized, said the diplomat after NATO Secretary General George Robertson visited the country on Friday.
Over 4,500 NATO troops are currently in Macedonia on a 30-day mission to collect arms surrendered by the rebel National Liberation Army (NLA), as part of a Western-brokered peace deal to end a seven-month ethnic insurgency.
But Western governments fear a "security vacuum" when NATO begins leaving on September 26, after which unarmed monitors from the European Union and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) are to be deployed.
Until now Macedonia has insisted that its own security forces can protect the OSCE and EU monitors.
Meanwhile, a senior official close to the Skopje presidency confirmed: "We have a plan to propose a small force of 150-200 people," adding that the formal proposal could be made on Monday.
"That number should be enough to do the job without causing the problems that a big force would create by dividing the country," the official added.
He said the force would be linked to NATO command structures already in the country, adding that its mandate would be "linked to the mandate of the OSCE and EU monitors.
EU foreign ministers earlier this month proposed a so-called NATO-plus force of troops from NATO and non-NATO member states, like Russia and Ukraine, under a UN mandate.
The Western diplomat said the exact make-up of the force was still being discussed -- SKOPJE (AFP)
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