The leader of Serbia's main opposition party predicted yesterday that President Slobodan Milosevic would be out of power within a year.
"I am confident that this time next year Milosevic will be history," Mr Zoran Djindjic, leader of Serbia's Democratic Party, said in London after talks with the British Foreign Secretary, Mr Robin Cook.
Mr Djindjic said Mr Milosevic could ride out the short-term impact of the 11-week NATO air campaign, but Serbia's disparate opposition could topple him soon if it was backed by a fresh wave of the street protests which hit Belgrade three years ago.
"I believe [he will be ousted by] the winter months the first months of next year. This situation will be very risky for him," Mr Djindjic said. "But as opposition we must do something. It will not be automatic."
Serbia's Alliance for Change, an umbrella group encompassing opposition parties and non-governmental groups, has repeatedly urged Mr Milosevic to quit. Leaders of most Western nations have also set Mr Milosevic's removal as a condition for providing aid to help rebuild Serbia after 11 weeks of devastating NATO bombing.
But there are few signs that Mr Milosevic (58), who has dominated Yugoslav politics since 1987, plans to bow out.
The huge street protests against Mr Milosevic in 1996 are the nearest Serbia has come to ousting its leader, while NATO's air attack did more to destroy his country than his political fortunes.
"Dictators like violence. If you use violence against dictators they are happy," Mr Djindjic said. "You must undermine them by supporting positive democratic forces, not by creating conflict. Milosevic is good in conflicts."
Mr Djindjic, denounced in the Serbian newspaper Politika yesterday along with other opposition figures who "applauded every NATO missile in their blind wish to get power", said the world should not isolate Serbia by withholding all reconstruction aid.
He said he had sought Mr Cook's support for independent media and democratic opposition in Serbia. He said he was also seeking reconstruction aid for local Serbian administrations opposed to Mr Milosevic.
"We have 30 cities with opposition administrations in Serbia," he said. "The cities are destroyed now. They haven't heating supplies, electricity, bridges."
Western countries have said they are ready to offer post-war humanitarian support to Serbia, but it would not receive aid for reconstruction while Mr Milosevic remained in power.
Mr Djindjic said Mr Cook, who did not speak to reporters, appeared ready to back his proposal.
"To support these [opposition-run] cities does not mean to support Milosevic," Mr Djindjic emphasised. "The people in these cities would not think it is support for Milosevic. Infrastructure in these cities is a humanitarian issue. If you don't have a bridge, or you don't have heating in the winter, it's a humanitarian question."