SLOVENE PRESIDENT SAYS HE MIGHT TESTIFY AGAINST MILOSEVIC

LJUBLJANA, Oct 14 (Hina) - Slovene President Milan Kucan has said he cannot exclude the possibility of testifying against former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic at the UN war crimes tribunal at The Hague. He maintains, however, that this is a moral obligation which must not be connected with the tribunal's use of coercion in relations with states of the former Yugoslav federation. #L# "It depends on how things will develop," Kucan told Slovene television station POP-TV on Sunday, in response to whether he might testify against Milosevic. Cooperation with the Hague tribunal is a moral and legal obligation, but the issue of cooperation must not be related to the exclusion of states from financial arrangements, said Kucan. He denied the existence of a secret agreement between him and Milosevic before the break-up of the former federation. Kucan said it was true that at the time of the ex-Yugoslav crisis, he suggested to Milosevic and former Croatian President Franjo Tudjman to settle the status of Serbs in Croatia by themselves and not burden the other republics with it. Kucan said he once met with Milosevic at Brdo near Kranj on which occasion he quoted Milosevic as saying, "If you really want it, you Slovenes, leave Yugoslavia. But the Croats cannot. We (Serbs) are related to them by blood." Speaking about his future in Slovene politics, Kucan said he would not form a party or movement but act within the so-called Bled Network, a group of intellectuals considering the ethical issues of the contemporary world. Kucan, whose second consecutive term of office as head of state expires next month, under the Constitution cannot run for the office for the third time. He gives the best chances for victory at the presidential ballot to incumbent Prime Minister Janez Drnovsek, but also to former central bank governor Franc Arhar and former parliament president France Bucar. (hina) ha