Montenegrin prime minister resigns

PODGORICA, Yugoslavia -- The Montenegrin government is in turmoil following the resignation of Prime Minister Filip Vujanovic.

Vujanovic found his leadership weakened by the resignation of influential ministers

Vujanovic handed in his resignation to parliament on Friday, citing disunity in his coalition sparked by a power deal with Serbia signed last month.

Splits in his Cabinet appeared over an EU-brokered accord that gave greater freedom to both Montenegro, Yugoslavia's junior republic, and Serbia.

The crisis became critical last week when four key pro-independence ministers, including Foreign Minister Branko Lukovac, quit in protest at the deal which they said did not go far enough.

Vujanovic asked the assembly to formally confirm the end of his mandate on Friday, The Associated Press reported.

EXTRA INFORMATION In-Depth: Yugoslavia in transition

Bragisa Burzan, a Social Democrat minister in the Montenegrin regime, told CNN: "I think that the coalition will agree on a new government."

The accord, signed by President Milo Djukanovic and Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica, radically restructures Yugoslavia under the new name -- Serbia and Montenegro.

Both republics would gain greater autonomy.

Parliaments in both Serbia and Montenegro have endorsed the agreement which allows the republics to vote on full independence in three years.

Under the EU-negotiated accord, Serbia and Montenegro will share defence and foreign policies and a seat at the United Nations but will maintain separate economies, currencies and customs services.

Burzan added that he believed the new government will follow the accord because it is an "international obligation made by the president of state."

A referendum will take place in three years he predicted.

Yugoslavia once included four other republics; Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia and Macedonia. But they broke away -- most of them violently -- under then-President Slobodan Milosevic in the 1990s.