BELGRADE, July 8-(Kyodo), The pro-Western Democratic Party and the Socialist Party of Serbia joined hands Monday, forming a new government and marking reconciliation between formerly deeply divided political forces.

The new coalition government, led by economist Mirko Cvetkovic, 57, will seek Serbian membership in the European Union as its primary goal and aim to preserve Kosovo as a Serbian province

Kosovo, a predominantly ethnic Albanian region, declared independence in February and was recognized by nearly 40 countries, among them the United States and other major Western powers.

The Socialists, a party created by former authoritarian ruler Slobodan Milosevic, had persecuted and imprisoned a number of Democrats and other party activists.

The Democrats, after defeating the Socialists in parliamentary elections, handed Milosevic over to the U.N. War Crimes Court in 2001. The Tribunal indicted him for the worst war crimes but he died in The Hague prison before the trial was over.d Cardinal Walter Casper during his official visit to Russia.