French diplomat says Serbia's SAA issue should be resolved shortly

15/11/2009

BELGRADE, Serbia -- Jean Francois Terral, France's ambassador to Belgrade, said on Friday (November 13th) that he believes the frozen Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) between the EU and Serbia will be resolved shortly. He said all EU members respect the opinion of the Netherlands, which insists the SAA remain blocked until Serbia arrests Bosnian Serb wartime commander Ratko Mladic. But Terral questioned how long one EU member would be able to defend this stance, as the majority of members share a different opinion. Earlier in the week, the Netherlands implied it might soften its position, but is awaiting a December report on Serbia's progress from UN war crimes tribunal chief prosecutor Serge Brammertz. (Vreme, Beta, B92, Radio Srbija - 13/11/09)