The Yugoslav parliament yesterday accepted the resignation of the former prime minister, Mr Zoran Zizic, whose protest withdrawal last week over the extradition of Mr Slobodan Milosevic caused the government to collapse.
Mr Zizic, a member of the Montenegrin Socialist People's Party (SNP) which once backed Mr Milosevic but allied itself with the Serbian reformers who ousted him last year, said that if a new federal government "is not formed within 90 days, new federal elections should be called". But he admitted that might be difficult, as voters have cast their ballots twice in the last 10 months.
Mr Zizic said that appointing a new government from the sitting parliament would be "more practical". He was speaking during a brief extraordinary session of the federal parliament, which was under heavy police guard to prevent possible demonstrations by Milosevic supporters.
Serbia's ruling coalition later agreed on "basic principles" for a new Yugoslav government, after Mr Zizic's resignation. A future government would "function until constitutional changes are made and early elections are held at the federal level," the Serbian Prime Minister, Mr Zoran Djindjic, said after a meeting.
The talks included the federal President, Mr Vojislav Kostunica, and the members of his Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) party alliance. The planned new government would also "provide further integration of the country into Europe and the world," Mr Djindjic was quoted as saying.