BELGRADE, Serbia-Serbia's new pro-Western prime minister took office Tuesday, a day after the inauguration of a new government that includes democrats and allies of late leader Slobodan Milosevic.

Mirko Cvetkovic took over from outgoing nationalist Premier Vojislav Kostunica in a brief formal ceremony at the government's headquarters in Belgrade.

Serbia's parliament late Monday approved the new Cabinet made up of the former bitter political foes, the Democratic Party of President Boris Tadic and the Socialist Party of Serbia, which was formed by Milosevic in the 1990s.

Under Milosevic, the Socialists were blamed for inciting the Balkan wars and ruining Serbia's economy, but the party recently has sought to shake off that image and embrace pro-Western reforms.

The coalition was approved in a 127-27 vote, with the remaining lawmakers in Serbia's 250-seat Parliament refusing to vote.

Cvetkovic, 57, has pledged to take the country toward European Union membership and other Western integrations.

But he stressed that the government would never recognize Kosovo as independent, despite Western support for the predominantly ethnic Albanian region's decision this year to break away from Serbia.

Cvetkovic, a former finance minister, made the rebuilding of Serbia's ties with the U.S. one of the new government's priorities.

"The government of Serbia will strive to promote relations with the United States with an aim to have this greatest global power take more into consideration interests of Serbia and its people when resolving disagreements in the Balkans," Cvetkovic said.

Cvetkovic, an economist from Tadic's party, succeeded Kostunica, who led the revolution that ousted Milosevic from power in 2000 but since has adopted staunch anti-Western policies.

Tadic's For a European Serbia alliance won the most votes in the May 11 election but needed the Socialists' support to form a parliamentary majority.

The West hopes the Cabinet led by Tadic's Democrats will push pro-Western reforms and deliver the remaining Serb suspects to the U.N. war crimes court in The Hague, Netherlands, where Milosevic died in 2006 while on trial for genocide. Bosnia's wartime leader Radovan Karadzic and his military commander Gen. Ratko Mladic remain at large.

The leader of the Socialists, Ivica Dacic, became Cvetkovic's first deputy and the new interior minister in charge of police.

Dacic said the Socialists "have always been" in favor of cooperation with the U.N. war crimes court. "It's our international obligation."