Milosevic’s party puts high price on democracy

SLOBODAN Milosevic’s Socialists yesterday offered to back a pro-democratic Serbian government but set a high price in return – an end to Serb extraditions to the UN war crimes tribunal.

"We are ready to support new coalition government," said Ivica Dacic, an official of the Socialist Party of Serbia. "We are ready to begin negotiations."

Dacic's remarks in Belgrade came after the pro-western G17 and monarchist Serbian Renewal Movement agreed to join a minority coalition led by Vojislav Kostunica, who succeeded Milosevic as president of Yugoslavia.