LJUBLJANA -- Slovenia was asked by Washington to sign a pact guaranteeing U.S. citizens non-extradition to the International Criminal Court (ICC), but needs more time to decide on the matter, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement obtained by AFP Wednesday.

As Slovenia has ratified the Rome Statute of the ICC, it needs "adequate time for consultations" before deciding on a bilateral accord with the United States because its signing could have "complex" consequences for the implementation of the statute, the ministry said.

Slovenia, an EU candidate, has not been asked by the European Union not to sign the accord, but Ljubljana is "closely following consultations within the EU related to the U.S. initiative," it added.

Slovenia is among the 10 most advanced EU candidate countries, expected to become a member in 2004. It is also expected to be invited to join NATO in November.

The statement stressed that Slovenia signed the Rome Statute in December 2001, among the first 60 countries to have done so. It also called the ICC an "important achievement in international law and a gain for the international community in the fight against genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity."

The ICC was established in the Hague on July 1 as the first permanent international tribunal to deal with allegations of genocide and war crimes.

The United States fears it could be turned into a political instrument through war crimes accusations against its own troops abroad, particularly in UN peacekeeping operations.

Washington has already concluded similar accords with Romania, also an EU candidate, and Israel.

After Bucharest penned the agreement, the European Commission called on countries seeking EU membership not to sign accords with the United States on the non-extradition of U.S. nationals to the ICC.