WASHINGTON, Jan 24 (Hina) - The U.S. Ambassador for war crimes issues, Pierre Richard Prosper, has not offered Belgrade any assistance in return for the arrest of a war-time Bosnian Serb commander, General Ratko Mladic, but the
apprehension of Mladic and other war crimes suspects would strengthen cooperation between the United States and Yugoslavia, a spokesman for the State Department said on Friday.
WASHINGTON, Jan 24 (Hina) - The U.S. Ambassador for war crimes
issues, Pierre Richard Prosper, has not offered Belgrade any
assistance in return for the arrest of a war-time Bosnian Serb
commander, General Ratko Mladic, but the apprehension of Mladic and
other war crimes suspects would strengthen cooperation between the
United States and Yugoslavia, a spokesman for the State Department
said on Friday. #L#
Commenting on media reports that during his recent visit to
Belgrade the US diplomat offered financial aid to Belgrade if the
Yugoslav authorities arrested Mladic, spokesman Richard Boucher
told reporters that Prosper had offered no deal to the Yugoslav
authorities.
He explained that the extradition of Mladic, Radovan Karadzic and
other war criminals, indicted by the Hague-based UN war crimes
tribunal, would strengthen cooperation between Belgrade and
Washington.
On 31 March the United States should approve USD40 million worth of
assistance funds for Yugoslavia, but the State Department insists
on assurances that Belgrade co-operates with the International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in a
satisfactory way.
Last Tuesday in Belgrade Prosper demanded the arrest of Mladic,
Karadzic and two men from the notorious "Vukovar three", Veselin
Sljivancanin and Miroslav Radic, accused by the ICTY of atrocities
committed in the eastern Croatian town.
(hina) ms