Kostunica on Milosevic, Serbs and, Oh, Yes, NATO

By ANDREW PURVIS, Dejan Anastasijevic

Yugoslavia's new President, Vojislav Kostunica, met with TIME's Andrew Purvis and Dejan Anastasijevic in Belgrade.

Q. Are you concerned that the old regime will attempt a counter-coup?

A. There are no chances for that. That notion is based on the idea that the Milosevic regime can't be beaten. But he has lost. And now his party is in disarray.

Q. Should Milosevic be tried for war crimes?

A. At this moment, I am not thinking about that. We are burdened by all sorts of difficulties concerning the social and economic situation. An instant trial in the Hague would endanger the very fragile democratic process here. Also, the way that Milosevic is going to be judged in history books is of utmost importance.

Q. What about in the future?

A. It's possible. But this is more complicated than it's been made out. The Serbs created a cult of personality around him, but that cult was made stronger by the international community. They supported him.

Q. Do you agree that Serbs committed war crimes in the 1990s and should be tried for those?

A. Yes. But it's a complicated matter. If the Croatian President had not tried to revive the idea of a Croatian independent state, the Serbs would not have rebelled and Milosevic would not have had a chance to abuse that. And when it comes to war crimes, there were war crimes committed by NATO last year.

Q. Can you envision an independent Kosovo?

A. I can envision many things. But after that picture goes another picture: of the Albanians in Macedonia, in southern Serbia, in Montenegro and even in Greece. One should be pragmatic. There are some problems that you can't solve--like Jerusalem.

Q. Do you have a message for the U.S.?

A. This is something very important. It is God's will and punishment that we in Serbia and Montenegro are where we are. Sometimes we suffer because of our geopolitical position. But we are also proud. This has nothing to do with Milosevic. He was just abusing these sentiments. But we hope that the West will now understand us in that positive sense.

Q. Was the West a help or a hindrance in your victory?

A. The West was not a hindrance, and now there is a chance for it to be a help. Some countries--France, Greece, some small Northern European countries--were particularly helpful.

Q. And the U.S.?

A. This time they were not a hindrance.