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Senior US envoys and Serbian opposition leaders met yesterday to discuss how to sustain a growing movement to oust Slobodan Milosevic, Yugoslav president, following last week's mass rally in Belgrade and signs the regime may be cracking from within.
Robert Gelbard, the outgoing US envoy to the Balkans, and his successor, James Dobbins, flew to the Yugoslav republic of Montenegro to meet eight Serbian opposition politicians, including Zoran Djindjic, leader of the Democratic party, and Vuk Obradovic, a former general of the Yugoslav army.
Vuk Draskovic, leader of the Serbian Renewal party and a fierce rival of Mr Djindjic, did not attend the talks, dealing a blow to western attempts to unite Serbia's fragmented opposition.
An estimated 100,000 people gathered in central Belgrade last Thursday for the biggest anti-Milosevic rally for over two years. Rifts in the movement were exposed when Mr Djindjic drew cheers for his demand the president resign within 15 days, while Mr Draskovic - once known as the "king of the streets" for his ability to pull crowds - was booed when he called for early elections instead. Sources close to the government say Mr Milosevic is in fact considering calling snap elections to the Serbian parliament before Serbia plunges into a cold, dark and probably restive winter with its power industry wrecked by Nato bombs.
Mr Milosevic may be gambling that his Serbian Socialist party (SPS) and its ultra-nationalist coalition allies, the Serbian Radical party, can maintain a majority - aided by the divided opposition and the regime's control of media and its power to rig vote counting.
The sources said Mr Milosevic was also concerned at the low morale within the SPS and signs of disintegration. Boguljub Karic, one of the richest Serbs and head of the Brothers Karic business empire, has tendered his resignation from the Serbian government, as has Mirko Marjanovic, the prime minister, on health grounds.
Rumours are also sweeping Belgrade about the loyalty of Milan Milutinovic, Serbia's president, and Zoran Lilic, recently removed as federal Yugoslav deputy prime minister.
The loose opposition coalition, Alliance for Change, has called its next rally in Belgrade for September 21. Government officials are encouraging talk of early elections in an attempt to defuse anger at the regime.
The US State Department had no immediate comment on the talks in Montenegro, one of a series of meetings that Belgrade has denounced as evidence of a conspiracy to oust Mr Milosevic.
Vladan Batic, co-ordinator for the Alliance for Change, quoted Mr Dobbins as saying the US administration thought it was important that cracks were appearing within the regime. Mr Batic also appealed for aid to help Serbia repair its power and heating systems.