BELGRADE, Dec 31: Two visiting US senators have urged authorities in Belgrade to try former strongman Slobodan Milosevic for war crimes in order to gain the country's international acceptance, Beta news agency reported today, reports AFP.

Republican Senators Arlen Specter and George Voinovich are the first US legislators to visit Yugoslavia since diplomatic relations between Belgrade and Washington were restored in November, one month after Milosevic's removal from power.

"Our delegation was informed that the Yugoslav authorities have many serious reasons to try Milosevic, and such a process could be launched as early as February or March," Beta quoted Specter as saying.

The senator from Pennsylvania added that the United States "wants to help Yugoslavia," but Milosevic "must face justice first," insisting that any indictment against him "must include war crimes charges."

"We need to see some effort here," said Voinovich, a senator from Ohio.

Milosevic, along with his four top aides, was indicted by the Hague-based International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for war crimes committed in Kosovo.