President Bush told President Vojislav Kostunica of Yugoslavia today that American financial aid to Belgrade would depend on cooperation with the war crimes tribunal at The Hague.
Mr. Kostunica did not commit to handing over his predecessor, Slobodan Milosevic, but did say that he was pushing to have his country's law changed by the end of May so that Belgrade can cooperate with the international tribunal investigating war crimes against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo in 1999.
The White House saw Mr. Kostunica's remarks as a first step and an evolution in his thinking from just a month ago when he refused outright to hand over the former president. But administration officials continued to press Mr. Kostunica to move further and allow a foreign trial of Mr. Milosevic.
Washington holds considerable leverage as Mr. Kostunica tries to attract foreign investment to rebuild his battered country. Yugoslavia was invited to rejoin the World Bank this week but the White House has said it will not take part in a donors' conference where Belgrade is seeking to raise as much as $1 billion to recover from more than a decade of war, economic sanctions and misrule.
In a speech today at the Cato Institute, a conservative public policy center in Washington, Mr. Kostunica urged the West to give his country "a shot of economic adrenaline" without imposing political conditions on the assistance. He spoke of the importance of trying Mr. Milosevic in Yugoslavia to promote justice among the people who suffered under his leadership.
"Justice is very important because we have been living for a long time with something that is contrary to justice," Mr. Kostunica said. "It should be in their hands and not the hands of foreigners." – WASHINGTON (Reuters)
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