[JURIST] ICTY chief prosecutor Carla Del Ponte [official profile] and EU diplomats have criticized a new Serbian plan to arrest war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic [ICTY case backgrounder; JURIST news archive] as too vague, although they acknowledged "positive elements." The six-point document [FT report], which Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica [official profile] discussed with EU diplomats Monday in Brussels, emphasizes improved coordination between Serb authorities and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) [official website; JURIST news archive], greater involvement of Serbian intelligence agencies and a better understanding of the arrest effort among the public, promoted through the media. Serbia hopes the plan can jump-start its EU membership talks [EU accession materials], which were suspended [JURIST report] in May because of Serbia's failure to capture and deliver Mladic. One diplomat who participated, Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot, expressed skepticism about Serbia's ability to carry through on the plan, saying, "I will believe it when I see it."

Mladic, who is believed to be hiding in Serbia [JURIST report], and Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic [JURIST news archive] are wanted by the ICTY for alleged crimes committed during Bosnia's 1992-95 war, including organizing the 1995 slaughter of 8,000 Muslims in Srebrenica [JURIST news archive]. The US has cut off financial aid to Serbia [JURIST report] because of its failure to arrest Mladic. Reuters has more.