Ottawa can no longer put off recognizing Macedonia, one of the six republics of the now-defunct Yugoslavia.

Canada and many European nations have already recognized two other breakaway republics - Croatia and Slovenia. But they have deferred recognition requests by Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The reluctance over the latter is understandable.

Bosnia-Herzegovina's orthodox Serbs, Muslims and Catholic Croats had initially hoped for a re-cast Yugoslav federation. But Muslims and Croats rushed into independence, fearing a feudal status under the powerful republic of Serbia, which wants to be Yugoslavia's successor state. The minority Serbs promptly demanded their own mini-state.

But Macedonia's case is relatively straight-forward.

About 78 per cent of its people are Macedonian, 20 per cent Albanians, and the rest Serbs, Romanians and Turks.

Macedonians took no part in the recent Serb-Croat war. Macedonian soldiers are quitting the Serb-dominated national army, which itself is leaving Maced