Zoran Zaev

After marathon talks, Macedonia's political parties have agreed on the appointment of a special prosecutor who will be tasked with investigating the illegal surveillance claims that have rocked the government.

"A deal was reached. We have a prosecutor," Antonio Milososki, from the negotiating team of the ruling VMRO DPMNE party, tweeted on Tuesday morning.

Opposition Social Democrats leader Zoran Zaev said on Saturday that if no agreement with the government is made to appoint the special prosecutor by the deadline agreed in a deal aimed at ending the political crisis in Macedonia, his party won't hesitate to release more wiretapped tapes.

Leaders of the four biggest parties in Macedonia have contracted an agreement for the resolution of the political crisis in the country. The early parliamentary elections have now been scheduled for April 24, 2016, as reported by MIA news agency.

A mediator in the negotiations has been EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn who made a statement on the decisions agreed shortly after midnight.

Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski announced on Wednesday that an agreement has been reached between the leaders of the four main parties to bring to an end the political crisis, which has gripped the country in the last several months.

Commissioner Hahn arrived on a rescue mission in Skopje on Tuesday after opposition leader Zoran Zaev last Wednesday said crisis talks with the government had failed and the EU- brokered deal on snap elections was dead in the water.

The EU Commissioner  Johannes Hahn will be visiting Macedonia on Tuesday to try to help the country's leaders resolve a months-long political crisis.

The US Deputy Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, Victoria Nuland, on Monday visited Macedonia to try and help solve the crisis over the illegal surveillance scandal centred on Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski.

On her visit to Kosovo on Sunday, Nuland is expected to try to persuade MPs to back unpopular constitutional changes that will allow for the establishment of a special court to handle war crimes committed by the Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA, in the 199os conflict.

Nuland will meet President Atifete Jahjaga, Prime Minister Isa Mustafa and Foreign Minister Hashim Thaçi.

EU Enlargement Commission Johannes Hahn will visit Macedonia early next week in a bid to help government and opposition leaders reach a compromise on resolving the  political crisis, MIA reported on Thursday.

Commissioner Hahn is expected to arrive on a rescue mission in Macedonia early next week, his office announced.

The visit comes after opposition leader Zoran Zaev on Wednesday said that crisis talks with the government had failed and that the brokered snap election deal was dead in the water.