Leader owns up to Kosovo genocide

Vojislav Kostunica, the new President of Yugoslavia, has admitted for the first time that genocide took place in Kosovo, saying he is ready to accept his share of responsibility for the crimes of Slobodan Milosevic on behalf of the Serbs.

Vojislav Kostunica, the new President of Yugoslavia, has admitted for the first time that genocide took place in Kosovo, saying he is ready to accept his share of responsibility for the crimes of Slobodan Milosevic on behalf of the Serbs.

In a highly symbolic admission, Mr Kostunica became the first Yugoslav leader to express remorse for the Balkan conflicts of the last decade. In an interview with the American CBS network, Mr Kostunica said he is ready to "accept the guilt for all those people who have been killed" and that he is "taking responsibility for what happened on my part". "For what Milosevic had done, and as a Serb, I will take responsibility for many of these crimes," he added.

Asked if former president Milosovic should ever stand trial, Kostunica replied, "somewhere, yes," keeping open the option of judicial proceedings against him in Yugoslavia. During the run-up to last month's elections Mr Kostunica promised on several occasions not to hand Mr Milosevic over the The Hague.