At issue is the question of legitimacy, perhaps even survival, for Yugoslavia's reform government. And there is the matter of how soon, and under what terms, the beleaguered rump state might be re-woven into the tattered political and economic fabric of southeastern Europe. We are going to be in very big trouble. The United States, however, has stopped short of fully embracing Kostunica. That is a source of frustration in Belgrade, which is desperate for foreign assistance to help confront an array of inherited national ills.
Unemployment is high and inflation is rampant.
That is making our job very, very difficult. Through the certification process, mandated by Congress, U.S. support for Kostunica's new regime is conditioned in part upon his willingness to send Milosevic and several other high-level officials to the Hague, Netherlands, to stand trial before a United Nations tribunal. Milosevic has been indicted by the tribunal for his alleged role in supporting military killings of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. With little expectation of that Milosevic being arrested and turned over in the coming days, Belgrade's critics are urging Bush to withhold backing from Yugoslavia. Holding Milosevic accountable for his role in more than a decade of Balkan bloodshed, these critics say, is essential to building a new Yugoslavia that can live in peace with its neighbors.