Milosevic Could Face War Crimes Tribunal

W A S H I N G T O N, Jan. 5, 2001 -- Yugoslavia may be willing to have ousted President Slobodan Milosevic be tried by an international war crimes court, provided the trial is held in Yugoslavia, the country’s foreign minister has said.

Goran Svilanovic made the comment following a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in Washington on Thursday.

“There are possibilities to fully cooperate with thetribunal and to prosecute all indicted personalities incooperation with the tribunal on the territory of the FRY[Federal Republic of Yugoslavia],” he said with Albright standing at his side.

Milosevic was indicted by the International War Crimes Tribunal in the Netherlands in 1999. The indictments came just days before the end of the NATO air war against Yugoslavia, and accuse Milosevic of planning and carrying out a gruesome campaign of crimes against Kosovo Albanians.

On her part, Albright welcomed what she called a historic move. “There can be no question that Yugoslavia has turned a corner and is moving in a positive direction toward Europe and democracy,” she said after meeting with Svilanovic.

Svilanovic noted he was the first in his post to visit aU.S. secretary of state in eight years of Balkan bloodshed.

A Victory for Albright

The declaration, coming as it does, just as Albright’s time in office is winding down, was all the more poignant as she has devoted much of her eight years of service in theClinton administration to taming Milosevic.

“Only six months ago, a meeting such as this would clearly have been unthinkable, and we have just spent 45 minutes together in a completely normal and comfortable and important discussion,” she said.

Ever since he swept into power in a dramatic ousting of Milosevic, Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica has repeatedly said he was unwilling to defer to a non-European power — meaning the U.S. — on Balkan issues.

Kostunica has been an avowed opponent of the NATO action and has projected a hostile attitude toward the U.S.

When Albright attended a 55-nation meeting of European leaders in Vienna in late November, he seemed intent on not meeting with her.

Her meeting with Svilanovic came almost three months after the fall of Milosevic and his regime.

“The recent free and fair elections in the Serb Republicprovide ample evidence of the Serbian people’s warm embrace of democratic principles and a reform agenda,” Albright said.

Svilanovic was almost as effusive. “I appreciate that I had the opportunity to really start, I sincerely hope, a new phase in relations between Yugoslavia and the United States,” he said.

On her part, Albright has steadfastly worked on the Balkan crisis, devoting more energy over the region, except possibly for the Middle East.

As ambassador to the United Nations during President Clinton’s first term, she railed against what she regarded as the timid administration approach to the Balkans, blaming Milosevic for the bloody war that befell Bosnia starting in 1992.

Years later she was appalled at the abuses she said Milosevic wrought against Kosovo Albanians, and she was an enthusiastic backer of the U.S.-led, NATO air war over Yugoslavia in 1999.

Lingering Issues

But there are several lingering issues left over fromYugoslavia’s difficult past. One is the continued detention of several hundred Kosovo Albanians by Yugoslav forces in 1999; the administration wants them released.

Svilanovic had asked to meet with Secretary of State-designate Colin Powell, but officials said he was turned down because Powell wants to avoid meeting foreign leaders until he assumes office later this month.

Svilanovic said he expected to meet with advisers to Powell today. He added that his government will seek additional meetings once the new administration takes office on Jan. 20.

Kostunica’s government has been discussing the possibility of a domestic judicial proceeding against Milosevic on grounds there were numerous Serb victims of the former president’s rule.

The new government has begun cooperating with the Hague-based tribunal, agreeing to grant visas to investigators. The administration hopes that Belgrade officials will begin turning over documents to the investigators.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.