On 20 December 2005, Assigned Counsel Steven Kay applied for the limited and conditional provisional release of Milosevic and the Trial Chamber ordered the defence to submit any further material, including the said guarantees from the Russian Federation, by 18 January 2006.
Kay also submitted a set of guarantees from the Russian Federation, dated 17 January, within confidential Attachment E and a series of personal undertakings, signed by Milosevic, contained within confidential Attachment F
In its guarantee letters, the Russian Federation said it would respect the orders of the ICTY and that it would submit written reports to the Trial Chamber about whether Milosevic was meeting conditions set by the ICTY.
On 22 December 2005, the Prosecution opposed the request for Milosevic's provisional release. In the explanation, the Prosecution said that the application had been timed to disrupt the proceedings, that the trial must continue notwithstanding the health of the accused, even as a trial in absentia, that the accused would not return to The Hague if released for medical treatment, that the guarantees of the Russian Federation would not provide sufficient assurance that the authorities would arrest the accused if he violated any of the conditions of his release and that personal undertakings of the accused were not credible.
The continuation of the marathon trial of the ex-Yugoslav president, charged with genocide in Bosnia and crimes against humanity in Croatia and Kosovo, is scheduled for 23 January.
Since 12 February 2002, the trial has been discontinued about 20 times due to Milosevic's high blood pressure, heart problems, flu or exhaustion.