UN tribunal's Brammertz again urges arrest of Mladic, Hadzic

11/09/2008

BELGRADE, Serbia -- Hague tribunal chief prosecutor Serge Brammertz again Wednesday (September 10th) urged Serbian authorities to capture the remaining two major war crimes fugitives, Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic. Kicking off a two-day visit to Belgrade, Brammertz described their arrests as "the key goal of our full co-operation". At a joint news conference with Rasim Ljajic, head of Serbia's national council for ties with the UN tribunal, Brammertz said he believes that the new government will provide the necessary resources to resolve remaining issues regarding Serbia's co-operation with the tribunal.

Ljajic said he expects the EU Council of Ministers, which is due to meet on Monday, to "appropriately evaluate" Serbia's progress in war crimes co-operation. "We are aware of the remaining obligations and will do everything in our power," he pledged.

Separately Wednesday, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said he expects the Council of Ministers to allow for an interim trade deal with Serbia. The Netherlands, however, insists Belgrade must first arrest Mladic. (Beta, Tanjug, RTS, Danas, FoNet, B92 -10/09/08)