MACEDONIA: CHIRAC TO HOLD TALKS WITH GLIGOROV

Описание: (28 Feb 1999) French/Nat

French President Jacques Chirac arrived in Macedonia on Sunday to hold talks with Macedonian President Kiro Gligorov.

Chirac is in the Balkans to review French NATO peacekeepers preparing to intervene in Serbia's neighbouring Kosovo province.

French President Jacques Chirac was welcomed by the Macedonian Ceremonial Guard on Sunday when he flew into Skopje Airport for his first ever visit to Macedonia.

There to greet Chirac was Macedonian President Kiro Gligorov.

At a meeting in Paris earlier this month, Chirac told Gligorov that France would support Macedonia's bid for membership in NATO and the European Union.

From Skopje it was a short drive to the Presidential Palace for further talks.

Chirac, accompanied by French European Affairs Minister Pierre Moscovici, said earlier this week it was vital that major powers prevent any flare-up of fighting in Kosovo ahead of a follow-up of peace talks in Rambouillet, France.

Chirac said both sides in the conflict had to move forward.

SOUNDBITE: (French)
"This deterioration concerns us. There is a decision to be made on peace by both sides, and each side has to make an effort. For the Albanians it's a question of accepting autonomy and giving up their arms. For the Serbs it is again a question of accepting autonomy and an international peacekeeping force in Kosovo to ensure that peace is kept and autonomy goes ahead. "
SUPER CAPTION: French President Jacques Chirac

From Skopje, Chirac, in his role as supreme commander of the French military, is to review 1-thousand 200 French NATO troops stationed in the northern town of Kumanovo.

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