The Yugoslav information minister, Goran Matic, has accused foreign media of waging what he described as an unscrupulous war against his country.

In an interview in the `Duga' magazine he said his ministry had learnt from past mistakes and was preparing a return media offensive for 1999.

He criticisedWestern governments which he said were funding independent media in Yugoslavia including the Belgrade based radio B-92 and the ethnic Albanian newspaper in Kosovo, `Koha Ditore' for their own ends.

He denied that a new information law in Serbia was restrictive and said the law -- which has been strongly criticised by journalists and legal experts -- had only prevented lies being presented as truth.

He also said that a new federal law on the media was being prepared.