The European Union expansion commissioner says the bloc will most likely call off talks with Serbia and Montenegro after the country missed Sunday's deadline to hand over fugitive war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic.
Olli Rehn said he will consult Wednesday with chief United Nations war crimes tribunal prosecutor Carla del Ponte on Serbia's cooperation with the court. But Rehn said the facts appear quite clear, Ratko Mladic is not in The Hague and thus there is no cooperation with the U.N. tribunal. He said this leaves the union no other option but to call off the next round of talks on expanded ties scheduled for May 11.
The Commissioner spoke in Brussels after talks with Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Miroljub Labus.
The Hague tribunal indicted Mladic, the top commander of Serb forces in Bosnia-Herzegovina, in 1995 for attacks on civilians during the Balkan conflict.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
