There have been some reports that Gotovina was in Bosnia-Herzegovina, but they appear after he leaves the country. Those are media reports that are very hard to verify, General Leakey told the Sarajevo daily Dnevni Avaz in an interview published on Thursday.
The British general explicitly confirmed that EUFOR was searching for Gotovina, but declined to reveal any details, citing "the sensitivity of the whole matter".
Speaking of the two other most wanted fugitives -- Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic and his military commander Ratko Mladic -- the EUFOR commander said that they were mainly not in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Leakey said that EUFOR had clear evidence showing that Mladic was on the Bosnian Serb army's payroll and that he had been hiding in its underground bunkers near Han Pijesak, about 50 kilometres northeast of Sarajevo, last summer.
It is very well known that Karadzic spends most of his time outside Bosnia-Herzegovina. He rarely comes to Bosnia-Herzegovina and stays only briefly, so it is very hard to arrest him, the general said.
Asked where Karadzic was now, Leakey said he did not know and added that he was not willing to talk about details.
The EUFOR commander said that the authorities of Serbia and Montenegro had so far had many opportunities to capture both Karadzic and Mladic and transfer them to The Hague, but did not do it.
It is true that the climate is gradually changing now. Savo Todovic has recently turned himself in, and Vladimir Lazarevic has announced to do the same. But, as people say here, one swallow does not make spring, Leakey said.