Macedonia demands disarmament

Macedonian officials today demanded that ethnic Albanian rebels disarm before a deal is approved by parliament, delaying a peace settlement that had seemed near conclusion after the sides agreed to overhaul the police.

A negotiator said the demand was made by VMRO, the governing party of Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski, who is known as a hard-liner.

He explained that under the Western-designed peace plan the rebels’ disarmament, to be carried out by some 3,000 NATO troops, would take place parallel to parliamentary action on the deal.

However, the negotiator also said that considering the ‘‘strong resistance’’ to the new demand from Western peace envoys, the Macedonians may soften their stand and agree to the original plan.

‘‘Macedonians put new proposals, new demands on the table they never made before. We’ll see whether or not they change their view, but this is in our view a deal-breaker,’’ said a Western diplomat in Ohrid, site of the peace talks.

‘‘It raises the question about their intentions, about even implementing the agreement they reached,’’ the diplomat said, speaking of a ‘‘severe setback.’’

Francois Leotard, the European Union peace envoy, sounded less pessimistic, saying ‘‘We need more time - one day, two days, not more I presume.’’