Serbia agrees on minority cabinet

By Nick Thorpe
BBC, Belgrade

Mr Kostunica seeks the approval of his party to sign agreement

Agreement has been reached in Serbia on the formation of a new government after almost eight weeks of uncertainty following December's elections.

Barring last-minute hitches, the minority government will be led by Vojislav Kostunica, leader of the Democratic Party of Serbia.

But Mr Kostunica and his allies control only 109 of 250 parliamentary seats.

The government may depend for its survival on Slobodan Milosevic's Socialist Party.

The Democratic Party of Serbia, a conservative party, will be joined by the liberal G17 Plus and an alliance of two smaller parties, the SPO and New Serbia.

The signature of SPO leader Vuk Draskovic is still missing from the document.

The only political force so far which has said it will prop them up is the Socialist Party of Serbia.

Its president, Slobodan Milosevic, is on trial for alleged war crimes at The Hague tribunal.

Distance

European Union and US officials have expressed alarm that the new government may depend for its survival on the Socialists.

But acting leaders of the party have distanced themselves from Mr Milosevic.

Ivica Dacic, president of the main committee, told the BBC on Thursday that his party would support the new government for a trial period of one-hundred days.

The Democratic Party, whose leader and Serbian prime minister Zoran Djindjic was assassinated last March, will go into opposition but could join the government later.