COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — A former Sri Lankan defense chief who's a front-runner in next month's presidential election says if he wins he won't recognize an agreement the government made with the U.N. human rights council to investigate alleged war crimes during the nation's civil war.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa said at a news conference Tuesday, "We will always work with the United Nations, but I can't recognize what they have signed" with past Sri Lankan governments.

Rajapaksa was the top defense official during the civil war, which ended in 2009, serving under his brother, then-President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

In 2015, the government agreed with the U.N. rights body to probe war crimes allegations.

If Rajapaksa wins the election and follows through with his comments, it would be a severe setback to Sri Lanka's post-war reconciliation process.