No breakthrough seen in Macedonia

Macedoinian PM Ljupco Georgievski, left, Macedoinan President Trajkovski, center and SDSM party leader Branko Crvenkovski meet with ethinic Albanian leaders on Saturday

SKOPJE, Macedonia -- Peace talks aimed finding a political solution to fighting spreading from village to village in Macedonia have been reconvened.

The political leaders and the U.S. and European Union mediators are in a second day of negotiations to end months of fighting between Macedonian forces and ethnic Albanian rebels.

CNN's Juliette Terzieff said no immediate breakthrough is expected, but "all sides are going to keep talking and everyone is aware of the alternative if they don't reach a deal."

She said two main issues are the composition of local police forces and Albanian being recognised as an official language.

Macedonians fear concessions on these issue could lead to a division of the country, she added.

AUDIO Juliette Terzieff in Macedonia: Two major issues under negotiation 705K / 25 sec. AIFF or WAV sound   VIDEO CNN's Chris Burns reports on some Macedonians that have returned to homes they were forced out of (July 27) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   MORE STORIES West under fire in Macedonia      IN-DEPTH Macedonia: Hurdles to peace   •  Balkan hotspots   •  Interactive map   •  Macedonia's military   •  News search   •  Audio/video archive   •  In-Depth: Yugoslavia   •  In-Depth: Kosovo

President Boris Trajkovski's office issued a brief statement on Saturday evening that said the talks would continue on Sunday and efforts were "aimed at achieving a political settlement as soon as possible."

The parties had met earlier in the day in what was the first face-to-face meeting of key leaders since high-level talks collapsed more than a week ago.

Western envoys hoped the two sides would build on lower-level discussions that took place over the past few days.

Under a new compromise, Albanian would become the official language only in areas where minority ethnic Albanians account for more than 20 percent of the population.

The phrasing apparently was reworked in an attempt to make it more acceptable for majority Macedonians.

The talks are being held amid tight security at Lake Ohrid -- a presidential retreat in the south.

A Western diplomat close to the talks told the Associated Press that Trajkovski had suggested Ohrid as "the best possible location to talk in a constructive atmosphere and in relative privacy" rather than in Skopje, where the atmosphere remained charged.

Underscoring the tensions in the capital, about 500 angry Macedonians gathered outside parliament Saturday evening to protest alleged ethnic Albanian rebel attacks on Macedonian homes in the village of Tearce, about 30 miles north of Tetovo.

Macedonians light candles during a protest against alleged attacks on Macedonian homes in front of the parliment building in Skopje

The protesters included about 300 residents of Tearce who said they returned to the village on Saturday to find their homes burned down.

Earlier, about 50 villagers blocked a bridge over the Vardar river and accused the militants of setting at least 20 homes ablaze.

"Terrorists are burning the village," said a protester who gave his name only as Nebajsa.

Fighting broke out in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in February with ethnic Albanians, who make up about one-third of the country's two million population, demanding greater rights.

A NATO source said Saturday the rebels have pulled back to the July 5 ceasefire line.

They were supposed to have completed the pullback by Thursday, but were given more time.

Some politicians representing the Slav majority, including Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski, have called NATO a friend of the enemy, for allegedly sympathising with the rebels.

NATO and Western officials have denied the charge -- and Macedonian politicians, including President Boris Trajkovski, have since calmed the rhetoric.