Serbia seeks to convince EU it is hunting Mladic

BRUSSELS - Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica will try to persuade the EU on Monday to restart talks on closer ties by offering a "road map" on how Belgrade plans to catch war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic.

The European Union suspended talks in May on a so-called Stabilisation and Association Agreement, the first step towards EU membership, after Kostunica failed to deliver the former Bosnian Serb military commander to the UN war crimes tribunal.

But the bloc is concerned the standoff is playing into the hands of hardline Serb nationalists and diplomats say a number of EU states would back a restart of talks later this year even without the capture of Mladic if Kostunica proves convincing.

Mladic is wanted for trial in The Hague on genocide charges for the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of 8000 Bosnian Muslims. He is thought to be sheltered by elements of Serbian military intelligence.

Kostunica will present the road map at a meeting in Brussels at which EU foreign ministers will discuss wider policy on the Balkans, including a plan for a greater EU role in the breakaway Serbian province of Kosovo once its future has been settled.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said last week the 25-nation bloc could restart talks with Serbia "even on the same day we see it in full cooperation with The Hague court". He did not elaborate on the cooperation that was expected.

- REUTERS