Based on the request of the government of the Republic of Macedonia to prevent the escalation of the conflict between the government of Skopje (Macedonia’s capital) and the ethnic Albanian rebels, NATO participated in the ongoing processes in the region. In June 2001, the President of the Republic of Macedonia, Boris Trojkovski, appealed to NATO for assistance in disarming ethnic Albanian rebels –  the National Liberation Army. As a result of NATO’s efforts, the conflicting parties entered a political dialogue, which resulted in the development of a peace plan and cessation of hostilities in the region. Upon the signing of the Ohrid Framework Agreement, on 27 August, 2001, under the auspices of the Operation Essential Harvest, NATO deployed military personnel to Macedonia. The NATO mission was tasked with collecting and destroying weapons voluntarily surrendered by the soldiers of the National Liberation Army. As a result of the thirty-day operation, NATO military personnel recovered a large number of weapons and various explosive substances, which helped prevent the escalation of the civil conflict. Later, the Skopje government asked NATO to maintain a small military contingent in order to prevent destabilization in the Republic of Macedonia and to ensure the safety of EU and OSCE observers. Since March 2003, the NATO mission in Macedonia has been transferred to the European Union (EU).