(SKOPJE) - Macedonia's main political parties agreed on Friday to keep the minority government intact until a NATO summit next month, when the country is expected to be invited to join the alliance, the foreign minister said.

"The government of Macedonia will keep functioning as a minority government during the next two or three weeks, till the (NATO) summit in Bucharest," Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki told reporters after a meeting called by President Branko Crvenkovski.

Macedonia, which became an official candidate for European Union membership in December 2006, hopes to be invited to join NATO -- together with Croatia and Albania -- at a NATO summit in Bucharest on April 2-4.

The coalition government led by Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski came on the verge of collapsing after one of the partners, the Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA), decided to pull out of the cabinet as its demand that Skopje recognise Kosovo's independence was not met.

"We agreed that the (minority) government will be supported by the parliament," Milososki said.

Two main opposition parties, SDSM and DUI, have supported the accord, officials said.

The DPA's defection on Thursday means the Gruevski government, in power since August 2006, has lost a slim parliamentary majority, but it is expected to remain in power unless the assembly votes for its dismissal.

Earlier, Gruevski told reporters he "will not let any politician or any political party harm the interests of the state or the citizens."

Macedonia borders Kosovo, whose Albanian majority declared independence from Serbia on February 17, and the DPA had previously threatened to pull out of government unless Skopje recognised the declaration.

Ethnic Albanians make up 25 percent of Macedonia's two million people. The landlocked former Yugoslav republic came to the brink of civil war in 2001 when fighting erupted between security forces and ethnic Albanians.

The European Commission on Friday urged Macedonian political parties to set aside differences and to "work in the spirit of consensus, and engage in continuous dialogue in order to ensure success of the reform process."

"We are following the situation in Skopje as it evolves," said a commission spokeswoman, adding: "We expect the government to remain focused on the EU reform process."

Greece is threatening to veto Macedonia's admission to NATO as it lays claim to the country's name for a province of its own.

Milososki blamed Greece for its "tough and quite nationalist position" in a dispute over the name of Macedonia that has been underway for more than 15 years.

"We are committed to the process and we will try to find a solution which will give no excuse to anyone to harm Macedonia's or NATO interests in the region," Milososki said.

Skopje and Athens officials will meet on March 17 in Vienna for a fresh round of talks, overseen by United Nations negotiator Matthew Nimetz.

Greece is blocking Macedonia's bid to become part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation because the Balkan state shares a name with a northern Greek province and Athens says such recognition would imply Skopje has a claim on the territory.

The United States has urged the two neighbours to resolve the dispute -- this week, Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Daniel Fried said admitting all three states to NATO "helps us take the Balkans into the 21st century."

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