NATO today welcomed news from Skopje that the Macedonian government and ethnic Albanian guerrillas have agreed to a ceasefire mediated by the alliance.
"We very much welcome this positive development," a NATO official told AFP, although it is unclear how effective the ceasefire - to take effect from midnight (11 p.m. Irish time) - would be.
If the ceasefire is successful, it would allow NATO to deploy 3,000 troops from 15 countries on a one-month mission into Macedonia to disarm rebels in an operation code-named "Essential Harvest".
The special force, including 700 US soldiers, could be deployed a week after getting its orders to go into Macedonia, which already hosts bases for the NATO-led KFOR security force in Kosovo.
"We see this as a very quick operation - go in, get the job done, get out," another NATO official said.
The start of Operation Essential Harvest also hinges on a political deal between Macedonia's majority Slavs and minority ethnic Albanians - and a commitment by rebels of the self-proclaimed National Liberation Army to surrender their weapons to the NATO force.
AFP