A defiant Mr Slobodan Milosevic has branded the international criminal tribunal which has accused him of war crimes as "illegitimate" and suggested he could return to power. The former Yugoslav president was speaking in his first interview since being ousted in October.
"I do not recognise this political institution which is a part of the mechanism of genocide against the Serbian people. It is also an illegal institution," Mr Milosevic said in a two-hour television interview.
The Hague-based tribunal on the former Yugoslavia indicted Mr Milosevic and four of his leading allies in May 1999 of war crimes in Kosovo, and since the October power change in Yugoslavia has stepped up its calls for his arrest.
Mr Milosevic insisted he was not afraid of a possible trial by courts in his homeland, as indicated by his foes grouped around the new Yugoslav President, Dr Vojislav Kostunica.
Despite the pressure and the threats, Mr Milosevic insisted he wanted to "regain confidence" among the Serbian electorate as head of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS).
The interview comes less than two weeks before a general election in Serbia on December 23th. The latest polls suggest Mr Milosevic's SPS will be heavily outnumbered in the future parliament by the Democratic Opposition of Serbia coalition led by Dr Kostunica.
President Kostunica won international praise yesterday for his approach to solving ethnic conflicts after pledging to settle disputes peacefully. Dr Kostunica announced that the Yugoslav parliament will pass a law on respecting the rights of national minorities following talks with ohl of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe.