Macedonia's clumsy handling of border talks turns what should have been a fairly technical matter into a political headache.

By Ana Petruseva in Skopje (Balkan Insight, 10 May 06)

For months now, the Macedonian government has been moving one step forward and three steps back on the issue of the final demarcation of its northern border with Kosovo.

Last Friday, Macedonian and Kosovo prime ministers Vlado Buckovski and Agim Ceku respectively met in Skopje in an attempt to sort out the matter, with Ceku telling reporters that the two had agreed that demarcation would take place only after the final status of Kosovo is determined.

But in response to journalists' questions, Ceku implied that the border he and his counterpart had decided upon was not that negotiated between Skopje and Belgrade in 2001 and verified by the UN, but the one in place before the break-up of Yugoslavia.

Prior to the meeting, Macedonia had long been loudly insisting that Kosovo must recognise the 2001 border before the conclusion of final status talks, seemingly ignoring signals from the international community that such pressure was not welcome.

At the Skopje meeting, Ceku claimed that demarcation was simply technical, but in truth the issue has become highly politicised.

There is little doubt that if the government had managed to solve the border issue it would have been a feather in its cap ahead of July 5 elections, as the problem has been seen as a potential threat to the stability of the country since Macedonia declared independence in 1991.

Instead, the government's hastiness and the poorly thought out way in which negotiations have been handled have created confusion and more headaches for the government.

The frontier issue is not a new. It has been kicking around since the fall of Yugoslavia, but especially since Skopje and Belgrade, after years of talks, signed a demarcation agreement in 2001.

That deal between Macedonia and Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, FRY, also included part of the border with the province of Kosovo, which has been a UN protectorate from 1999 when NATO troops chased out the Serbian army.

Unsurprisingly, the Kosovo authorities have repeatedly said they do not recognise the 2001 agreement signed by Macedonian and Serbian presidents Boris Trajkovski and Vojislav Kostunica respectively.

The Kosovo parliament passed a resolution saying the deal between Belgrade and Skopje is not valid for the Kosovo part of the border.

Another reason for the Kosovars to dispute the present demarcation is that it extends a few more kilometres further into Kosovo territory than the old border.

The position of the Kosovars is clear. They do not want, nor will acknowledge, any involvement of Belgrade in matters related to the province.

Therefore, their various messages to Macedonia boil down to the same thing: it is Pristina not Belgrade that should resolve the issue.

With Skopje so determined to close the issue with Pristina, the
protectorate's institutions get much-desired legitimacy plus an opportunity to show they can be a constructive neighbour at a time when the international community closely follows their every move.

Needless to say, Belgrade has followed the situation closely and on several occasions high-level Serbian officials have not concealed their disapproval of Macedonia turning to Kosovo to discuss the frontier problem.

Unlike the clear and unchanging positions of Pristina and Belgrade, Skopje's stance has been at times quite perplexing. Especially since the prime minister and the president had different opinions on the matter.

While the president has been leaning more towards the Serbian position, the premier has been determined to close the issue, even if it means bypassing Belgrade.

Even if we assume that the prime minister genuinely wanted to finally bring closure to the long-standing problem, it has been so clumsily managed that what should have been a fairly technical matter has turned into a political headache, playing into the hands of Macedonian nationalists who are deeply sceptical of Kosovo's intentions.

Another mistake was the government`s failure to explain to the public what has been going on and, in particular, deal with accusations that it was favouring Kosovo over Belgrade.

The Skopje meeting has deepened the confusion over the demarcation issue by suggesting that both premiers have agreed to scrap the 2001 agreement with Belgrade.

Officials from Buckovski's cabinet sought to downplay these
concerns by saying that Ceku's remarks about the former Yugoslav frontier were only made to avoid trouble back home, and that in the end he will recognise the 2001 deal.

After months of haggling, then, Macedonia has failed resolve the border question before the conclusion of Kosovo final status talks, so missing out on an opportunity to bolster its standing ahead of elections - although some might say that the entire border saga has strengthened relations between Macedonia and Kosovo and served as a significant step towards the final solution of the problem.

Ana Petruseva is BIRN Macedonia country director. Balkan Insight is BIRN`s online publication.

Source: Balkan Investigative Reporting Network