LEADING KOSOVO ALBANIAN PARTIES APPLAUD OHRID AGREEMENT

PRISTINA, Aug 11 (Hina) - Two leading political parties of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo have hailed an agreement which Macedonian authorities and ethnic Albanian representatives in that country have reached during the negotiations in the lakeside resort of Ohrid. According to Saturday's issues of the press in Pristina, the Democratic Alliance of Kosovo and the Democratic Party of Kosovo support the deal, but they fear that the latest escalation of clashes in Macedonia can jeopardise the initialled agreement which is to be signed on Monday. Ibrahim Rugova, the president of the strongest party - Democratic Alliance of Kosovo - expressed belief that the deal accorded by Macedonia's four leading parties would be respected and held. In Rugova's mind, only NATO forces can defuse the situation in Macedonia. Hashim Thaqi, the president of the other party, was quoted as saying that "the agreement will have a particular importance for the stabilisation, democratisation and development of not only Macedonia but also the entire region." His party also pointed out the international community's contribution to brokering the agreement. Thaqi hopes that international envoys will make it impossible for militant Macedonian circles, as he said, to obstruct the deal. According to the press, international envoys James Pardew and Francois Leotard fear that the escalation of the conflict could cloud the agreement. (hina) ms