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Yugoslav Parliament Endorses New Government
Yugoslavia's parliament late on Tuesday endorsed a new federal government led by Prime Minister Dragisa Pessich, the Tanjug news agency reported.
After hours of debate, a clear majority of deputies in both houses of parliament -- the Chamber of Republic and the Chamber of Citizens -- voted in support of the new cabinet to succeed the one which collapsed last month over the handover of former president Slobodan Milosevic to the U.N. criminal court in The Hague.
Under a deal between Montenegro's opposition umbrella group " Together with Yugoslavia" and Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica's DOS party alliance of Serbia, the new cabinet comprises 10 members, with each side holding five posts.
Pessich, a member of the Socialist People's Party (SNP) of Montenegro, the largest force in the "Together with Yugoslavia," told a joint session of the two houses Tuesday that the priorities of his new government are, with the full participation and cooperation of Serbia and Montenegro, to revise the federal constitution lawfully and redefine relations between the two republics.
"The new government will open up the country further to the outside world and solve the disputes and pending issues relating to Yugoslavia's international status," Pessich said.
"The new government will also carry out all the provisions of the Dayton Agreement which is of significant importance in regional stability and peace, and establish cooperation with the U. N. criminal court in The Hague," he said.
He noted that the issue of Kosovo must be resolved on the basis of U.N. Resolution 1244 which respects the sovereignty and integrity of Yugoslavia.
The Yugoslav president named Pessich as prime-minister- designate last week to form a new government.
Under the Yugoslav constitution, if the president is from Serbia like Kostunica, the premier should come from Montenegro. Serbia and the smaller Montenegro are the two republics comprising the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
Pessich, 47, has served as finance minister in the two previous Yugoslav governments since 1998.
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