SERB PM DOESN'T EXPECT KOSTUNICA WILL LEAVE RULING COALITION

BELGRADE, June 29 (Hina) - Serbia's Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic said on Friday he did not expect Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica's Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) to exit the DOS ruling coalition due to last night's extradition of former head of state Slobodan Milosevic to the Hague war crimes tribunal. "I told Kostunica on Monday that two possibilities remained if the constitutional court quashed the (Yugoslav) government's decree: I will resign as I cannot be responsible for the country's destiny, and the other is that we act as a government, which means that the republic assumes responsibility in keeping with Serbia's constitutional powers," Djindjic told Belgrade's B-92 radio station. Asked if the Serb government's decision meant the break-up of Yugoslavia, he said the break-up would have occurred "if we hadn't done what have done." Since yesterday, Djindjic has been under attack from Serbia's opposition parties, a man described as "culprit and traitor." He said today that if Milosevic had not been extradited, Yugoslavia would be internationally isolated again and the DOS would withdraw from the federal government. In making the decision to extradite Milosevic, the Serb government referred to a provision in the Constitution which had been adopted at Milosevic's insistence. The provision stipulates that Serbia is "not obliged" to implement any one decision by the federal authorities if it ran counter to the interests of the state of Serbia. "The Serb government made the decision to extradite Milosevic in order to protect Serbia," said Serbia's Deputy Prime Minister Zarko Korac. (hina) ha sb