Security Council endorses efforts to enact peace agreement in FYR of Macedonia

The Security Council today endorsed efforts to implement the 13 August Framework Agreement in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and strongly supported the establishment of a multinational security presence in the country at the request of its Government.

By a resolution adopted unanimously, the Council reaffirmed its commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the FYR of Macedonia and other States of the region, rejected the use of violence in pursuit of political aims, and stressed that only peaceful political solutions could assure "a stable and democratic future" for the country.

Welcoming efforts of the European Union and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to help implement the Framework Agreement, in particular through the presence of international observers, the Council said that a multinational security presence would contribute to the security of the observers.

The resolution also welcomed efforts by the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and KFOR, the international security presence in the province, to prevent unauthorized movement and illegal arms shipments across Kosovo's borders and boundaries.

The Agreement, signed in Skopje by Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski and the leaders of four political parties, provides for new rights to ethnic Albanians in exchange for the surrender of weapons to NATO by members of ethnic Albanian armed groups. The NATO arms collection mission ends today.