Skopje, 20/03/2001 (Agence Europe) - Messrs. Xhaferi and Imeri, leaders of the Albanian political parties represented in the Macedonian Parliament, signed a declaration in Skopje on 20 March, in the presence of the High Representative for Cfsp, Javier Solana (declaration drawn up with an EU contribution) in which they say thy are "united for peace". The declaration, that Mr. Solana considers as a first important step in efforts at isolating the extremists, the two leaders call on "groups which have taken up arms on our territory to lay down their arms, and return to their homes peacefully". The declaration continues: "We condemn the use of force in pursuit of political objectives (…) It makes political dialogue impossible. It blocks the road to Europe which we both as citizens of the Republic of Macedonia and as Albanians, have chosen. It could lead to a tragedy for us as Macedonian citizens, and for the whole region (…) We call on the Government to speed up those reforms affecting inter-ethnic relations (…). Important issues remain open. But we refuse to believe that we, the citizens of this country - Macedonians and Albanians - are condemned to choose between solutions which leave one group dissatisfied or another group feeling threatened. If old ideas have not produced solutions which are acceptable to all, then we must find new ones".