The Yugoslav government has issued a decree that calls for cooperation with the UN war crimes tribunal including extraditing suspects.
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Mr Slobodan Milosevic
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The measure could lead to the extradition offormer president Mr Slobodan Milosevic. Heis wanted by a UN tribunal based in The Hague for war crimes committed during the 1998-1999 crackdown on ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.
Deputy Yugoslav Prime Minister Mr Miroljub Labus said MrMiloseviccould be sent to The Hague in "a matter of days," adding that 15 other war crimes suspects in Yugoslavia faced a similar fate.
Serbian Prime Minister Mr Zoran Djindjic saidit might take "15 to 20 days" before Mr Milosevic was extradited. Healso said he did not expect any unrest when Mr Milosevic is extradited.
Milosevic would be the first former head of state to be brought before the court, established in 1993 to prosecute crimes committed during the wars in former Yugoslavia.
MrSimon Haselock, a UN spokesman in Kosovo, called the move "extremely good news".
"We have long known that Mr Milosevic was probably responsible for some of the horrendous crimes in this region," he said.
Earlier today, ministers from Montenegro's Socialist people's party (SNP), said they would not attend the session to protest the decree, which they say violates the constitution.
Mr Milosevic himself, central figure in a decade of Balkan wars which killed hundreds of thousands, sounded a defiant note ahead of the meeting.
Hewas quoted as dismissing the charges of crimes against humanity brought against him by prosecutors at the tribunal for atrocities committed in Kosovo in 1999.
"My destiny is linked with the destiny of the state and the nation. This case against me was faked," he said.
"I have done everything for benefit of the nation and the state and it was difficult to make decisions but I have always been inspired by our glorious history.
"I hope that history will make the final judgement," said Mr Milosevic, who is currently in a Belgrade jail as part of a domestic investigation into allegations of corruption.
AFP/AP/