Macedonia talks make progress

Leotard, left, has been working hard with his joint envoy Pardew, to secure a settlement

SKOPJE, Macedonia (CNN) -- Francois Leotard, the European Union's envoy to Macedonia, said on Thursday that talks on reforms to end the rebellion by ethnic Albanians have been productive.

"If the leaders are willing to intensively engage, a political solution is possible in the next two days," he said after a meeting with Macedonian and ethnic Albanian politicians.

Leotard's progress report followed days of discussion over rival proposals presented by leaders of Macedonia's Albanian minority that contained demands unpalatable to Macedonians and the West.

The talks between representatives of Macedonia's Slav majority and ethnic Albanian politicians began Monday under the auspices of the EU and the United States.

Leotard, U.S. envoy James Pardew and legal experts from the West are helping the rival sides hammer out an agreement.

"All the documents for the political settlement are on the table. It's now up to the leaders to engage in a procedure of intensive negotiations to reach a political settlement," Leotard said.

There were clashes overnight on Wednesday however, with government forces battling rebels crossing into Macedonia from neighbouring Kosovo, the army told The Associated Press.

One soldier was critically wounded, said Defence Ministry spokesman Marjan Gjurovski.

AUDIO Juliette Terzieff on cracks in Macedonia's fragile truce 890K / 82 sec. AIFF or WAV sound    IN-DEPTH Macedonia: Hurdles to peace   •  Balkan hotspots   •  Interactive map   •  Macedonia's military   •  News search   •  Audio/video archive   •  In-Depth: Yugoslavia   •  In-Depth: Kosovo   PROFILE Francois Leotard

U.S. officials at Camp Bondsteel, their main base in Kosovo, said American soldiers saved the wounded Macedonian soldier by giving him first aid at an observation post and then flying him by helicopter to Skopje, the Macedonian capital.

"Our soldiers, medics and pilots were at the right place at the right time to help save this soldier's life," Maj. Randy Martin, a spokesman for the U.S.-administered sector in Kosovo, told AP.

The flare-ups came exactly a week after the NATO-mediated truce took effect last Thursday in an effort to create an atmosphere of calm for peace talks under way in Skopje.