American involvement in the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Bosnia has been extended amid threats the US may pull out of all future UN missions.
The US are insisting that while their military are on peacekeeping duties, they should be immune from the powers of the International Criminal Court which was formally established on Monday.
Facing a midnight deadline for the mission's renewal, the United States joined the 14 other Security Council members in extending the Bosnia mandate until July 15th.
"No one has really slammed the door shut on our proposals, and it was on that basis that we came to the conclusion that we should allow the opportunity for these discussions to continue next week," US Ambassador Mr John Negroponte said following the vote.
Washington agreed to defer its campaign after UN Secretary-General Mr Kofi Annan warned US Secretary of State Mr Colin Powell that "the whole system of United Nations peacekeeping is being put at risk" over what he said were exaggerated US fears of vulnerability to the court.
Many world leaders had also angrily accused Washington of abandoning the people of Bosnia after playing a central role in ending the Balkan state's bloody three-year war that gave rise to the term "ethnic cleansing."
And European Union states and others had attacked the United States for trying to undermine the court, created to pursue the most heinous wrongdoing around the world including genocide and war crimes.
"We think the ICC is the most important advance in international rule of law since the establishment of the UN and we are not going to allow anyone to water down our commitment to the principle," European Commissioner Mr Chris Patten had said in Belgrade.
The Bosnia mission comprises of a 1,500-member police training program that includes 35 gardaí. The 18,000-strong NATO-led Stabilization Force (SFOR) in Bosnia is not affected by the dispute.