The Yugoslav government has adopted a draft law governing cooperation with the UN war crimes court, and it will now be submitted to parliament.
But President Mr Vojislav Kostunica did not say whether the law, which could pave the way for extraditing war crimes suspects such as ousted leader Mr Slobodan Milosevic, was adopted unanimously or through a majority vote in the coalition government.
Montenegro's Socialist People's Party, the junior coalition partner, has firmly opposed the draft law - mainly because it would enable the extradition of suspects who are Yugoslav citizens to the Dutch-based court.
Serbia's reformist DOS alliance, which ousted Mr Milosevic last year, dominates the federal government but needs the support of the Montenegrin party to secure an absolute majority in parliament.
Belgrade's hopes of crucial US backing at an international donor conference on June 29th, at which the Balkan country wants to raise more than $1 billion, rest on increased cooperation with the UN tribunal.