European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana was due to return to Skopje on Tuesday, continuing a frantic shuttle diplomacy in a bid to resolve Macedonia's political crisis and avert civil war.
Solana flew into Budapest earlier to brief the NATO alliance on his latest crisis mission to the tense republic, where a fragile coalition government is battling ethnic Albanian rebels.
He held several hours of talks in Skopje on Monday with Macedonia's majority Slav and minority ethnic Albanian political leaders in a bid to prevent the collapse of the national unity government he helped them form earlier this month.
Solana said there was goodwill on both sides but differences remained to be bridged.
Diplomatic sources said Solana was trying to get both sides to agree to a statement which would effectively nullify a peace deal moderate Albanians made with rebel leaders without forcing them to renounce it in public as was earlier demanded.
NATO and the EU fear Macedonia could slide into civil war if the coalition breaks up, leaving the Slav-dominated security forces to handle an ethnic Albanian insurgency by military means alone and without the consent of the Albanian minority.
"There is still too much hatred and revenge," warned NATO Secretary-General George Robertson, opening a two-day meeting of alliance foreign ministers in the Hungarian capital.
"Our meeting today sends a clear signal that we remain determined to bring peace and stability to the entire Balkans region," he added.
Solana would return to Budapest on Wednesday for more talks with NATO and EU ministers, a spokeswoman said.
Alliance diplomats said ahead of the talks that the two institutions would issue a first joint statement strongly condemning ethnic Albanian extremism in the southern Balkans -- BUDAPEST (Reuters)
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