War crimes suspect Mladic 'hiding in Russia'

A Belgrade newspaper today claimed that Bosnian Serb wartime commander and top war crimes suspect Gen. Ratko Mladic is in Russia.

It said negotiations were under way on how to extradite him to the UN war crimes tribunal in the Netherlands.

The report, citing an unnamed source, said Mladic left Serbia in May as Western pressure intensified on the Balkan republic to hand over the fugitive, indicted for atrocities during the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia.

“Secret talks and visits are under way between Belgrade and Moscow officials on whether Mladic should be handed over to the (UN) tribunal from Moscow or if he should be discretely transferred to Serbia first” and then sent to the UN court in The Hague, the source was quoted as saying.

Officials in Belgrade said they could not immediately comment on the report.

Serbia’s bid to join the European Union could be in jeopardy if it failed to bring Serbs indicted by the UN war crimes court to face justice.

The Serbian government claims Mladic’s whereabouts are unknown and that several attempts to locate him were futile.

The chief UN war crimes prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte, has accused Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica of deliberately stalling Mladic’s extradition.