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Putin issues Macedonia warning

British troops arriving at Skopje airport on Thursday
British troops arriving at Skopje airport on Thursday  


KIEV, Ukraine -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he has "great doubts" about the chances of success for NATO's operation to disarm ethnic Albanian rebels in Macedonia.

NATO troops have been arriving in Macedonia to join the 3,500 force which will undertake Operation Essential Harvest following months of conflict between government troops and the rebels.

Speaking in the Ukraine, where he is attending the country's independence day celebrations, Putin told Interfax news agency: "Although there are great doubts that it will, because it's difficult to count on the rebels handing over their arms.

"Strictly speaking, to seize the arms is not the main task.

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"The main task is to create conditions at which peace comes to this land, destruction of cultural monuments, people's killings and terrorist acts stop, as well as to create such a situation, at which political issues will be solved only by political means, but not by arms force."

In quotes carried by Reuters, Putin also said he "counts very much on" the NATO operation bringing positive results.

Moscow opposed the bombing by NATO of Yugoslav targets in 1999 and has backed the Macedonian government in the current Balkans conflict.

The deployment of NATO troops to Macedonia got into full swing on Thursday with the first batch of British and French troops already in the country.

They will be taking part in Operation Essential Harvest under which they will collect arms from ethnic Albanian rebels who agreed to disarm as part of a cease-fire deal.

CNN's Walter Rodgers reports that the force is also prepared to defend itself should it come under attack.

Britain is set to play the lead role in the Macedonia operation with around 1,800 soldiers. Paratroopers will form the core.

The troops will be part of a NATO force that will eventually number 3,500. A 400-strong advance group of mainly British soldiers is already in Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

The first of the Italian contingent to join the NATO force will leave Sardinia on Friday. Soldiers from the French Foreign Legion are already in the country.

The NATO mission to Macedonia is scheduled to last just 30 days, but Balkans experts have voiced doubt that the mission can be completed in such a short period.

Operation Essential Harvest
- A 30-day NATO plan to set up 15 arms collection points in western and northern Macedonia.
- The number of weapons held by the rebel National Liberation Army varies from anything between 2,500 guns to 8,000.
- The UK will provide the biggest component of the 3,500-strong force.
- A 400-strong advance guard, drawn mainly from the British 16th Air Assault Brigade, is already in Macedonia.
- Eleven other countries, including France, Germany and the Czech Republic, are expected to be involved.

Major-General Gunnar Lange, the officer heading Operation Essential Harvest, has also warned that the rebels could easily rearm after the alliance winds up its mission.

In addition to the British and French troops, other soldiers will come from the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Turkey. No U.S. troops will play a direct role in the mission, but will provide logistic support.

The Macedonian interior ministry said on Wednesday the rebels had more than 60,000 weapons. Rebel commanders have told Reuters the NLA has about 2,300, while the agency says NATO estimates the rebels have 3,000 weapons.

NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson said the collection period could start next week though some nations still need parliamentary approval before troops can be sent to Macedonia.

Robertson refused to speculate on how many weapons NATO hoped to gather from the rebels, saying: "The total (number of weapons) has to be realistic in quantity and in quality to have a degree of credibility," he said.

NATO has identified several locations where collection units will be situated.

One battalion will be northwest of Skopje and others will be at Petrovec Airport, Kumanovo and Krivolak.

Locations will probably change frequently and most of the weapons will be transported to a central point before being taken to Greece and destroyed.






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