Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

The United States joins the European Union and, we hope, others in welcoming the adoption of the Amnesty Law on March 7. This is a farsighted, lasting step for peace and reconciliation in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. We look forward to its speedy, full implementation.

In this spirit, we welcome the pardons already granted and note that more may be necessary. We also welcome the results of the March 12 Donors Conference sponsored by the European Commission and the World Bank. The United States has contributed $117 million in assistance to Macedonia since the start of the crisis in 2001. This includes our $40 million pledge at the Donors Conference, which should go directly for the financing requirements identified by the World Bank.

Mr. Chairman, the success of the Donors Conference and the recent progress in implementing a number of aspects of the Framework Agreement give us hope. We urge the parties to continue along this path, and they will have our full support as they do so in order to achieve lasting ethnic reconciliation and economic recovery.

Thank you very much.