THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Slobodan Milosevic has only one rule in regard to his trial: Don’t follow the rules.

So it came as no surprise that his statement yesterday opening the defense phase of his case had nothing to do with the various war crimes and crimes against humanity with which he is charged.

The former Yugoslavian president spoke for nearly four hours in the United Nations court in The Hague, showing little sign of the chronic high blood pressure and heart condition that have plagued both him and the hearing – now well into its third year.

There was hardly a mention of the atrocities committed by the Serb forces over whom he presided during the Balkan wars of the 1990s. Instead, he used his command of the floor to blame an unholy alliance of the Vatican, Germany, and America for the destruction of Yugoslavia.

“The accusations against me are unscrupulous lies and a tireless distortion of history,” he said.

Behind the disintegration of a successful multi-ethnic nation lay Germany’s desire to carve Eastern Europe into a constellation of small client states, and Rome’s wish to detach Roman Catholic Croatia from Orthodox Serbia.

Mr. Milosevic, 63, may have spent three years in a Dutch prison cell, but he has lost none of his defiance. The team of Serb lawyers helping him behind the scenes said they had already given notice of their intention to call, among others, President Clinton and Prime Minister Blair to account for their actions. The first of 1,400 defense witnesses Mr. Milosevic wants to call, described by his team as an “expert,” will take the stand next week.

Most of the witnesses will never appear, as the defendant has been granted only 150 four-hour days to present his case.