BRUSSELS, May 16 (UPI) -- EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana says Brussels wants to help Serbia's government to reinstate close ties with the European Union.
EU commissioners reiterated they want association talks with Serbia-Montenegro to be completed as soon as possible but first Belgrade has to fulfill a key condition and arrest war crimes suspect Gen. Ratko Mladic, the Beta news agency reported Tuesday.
The EU interrupted the association talks with Belgrade May 3 after Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica failed to arrest Mladic, who is sought on genocide and crimes against humanity charges in the former Yugoslavia. Kostunica had told EU and U.N. officials he would transfer Mladic to The Hague by April 30.
Solana, however, said it was both his and the EU stand that "we must help as much as possible the Serbian government and the people. They go through hard times and we want them overcome the situation and reinstate close relations with the EU."
