Robertson in bid to end Macedonian conflict

Nato Secretary General Lord Robertson is heading to Macedonia to try to find a political solution to the Balkans crisis.

Lord Robertson is visiting Skopje, along with the EU's defence and foreign policy chief Javier Solana.

They will seek to ease tensions between the Macedonian government and the ethnic Albanian minority.

"Javier Solana and I are going to Skopje essentially to give some advice, some reassurance, in many ways commendation to the government in Skopje about what has been going on in the recent past," said Lord Robertson.

Lord Robertson has told the BBC he also wants the Macedonian government "to get involved in a political discussion with especially the Albanian parties in the parliament, to make sure that now that the rebels have been pushed back, they now move onto the political offensive."

But former Liberal Democrat leader Sir Paddy Ashdown, who has a long-standing interest in the Balkans conflicts, says he believes Lord Robertson has a huge task ahead of him.

"I don't believe it is likely to be successful ... the desperate situation about Macedonia is that it is always the bomb waiting to go off with much wider implications for the Balkans. It's extremely frightening."

Sir Paddy said: "The Macedonian government has very good reason to feel let down by Nato, and it is very significant and very worrying indeed that they have now turned to Greece, and Bulgaria, and the Ukranians have provided arms.

"The reason for that is because they feel Nato promised them the earth, when they were necessary as Nato's backdoor into Kosovo, and has let them down."