Russia: End war crimes trials

Russia questions Western involvement in the Balkans

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov has called for the United Nations war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia to be shut down in the interest of stability in the Balkans.

In an interview with the Interfax news agency, Mr Ivanov said there was no need for the Hague-based tribunal, which was set up to prosecute suspects for alleged war crimes committed during the wars following the break-up of Yugoslavia.

The tribunal has indicted many Yugoslav officials, including former President Slobodan Milosevic.

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Many of those sought for crimes committed during the Croatian, Bosnian and Kosovo conflicts are believed to be living in the Balkans, but Yugoslavia has refused to hand suspects over.

It insists that any trials should be on Yugoslav soil.

"The tribunal was formed at a time when Bosnia and the Balkans were in a state of war, when there were no democratic institutions or institutions of justice," Mr Ivanov is quoted as saying.

"Today this is passing into history. Today Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Yugoslavia have democratic leaders."

The international tribunal itself, and its main Western backers, insist it still has an active mandate and many active indictments to pursue. The chief prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte, is on record as saying that trials could continue for the rest of the decade.

'Mistrust'

But Mr Ivanov is quoted as saying that the tribunal's continuing operation can only lead to mistrust and interfere with the resolution of problems in the region. Therefore, he says, the UN Security Council should consider ending the tribunal's work.

"We are sure that in this way, we would promote the stabilization of the situation in Yugoslavia and in the Balkans as a whole," he told Interfax.

The change of government in Yugoslavia has given war crimes prosecutors new hope that they might be able to bring suspects to trial. Last week, Belgrade promised it would exclude from its territory any war crimes suspects not holding Yugoslav nationality

Responding to Mr Ivanov's remarks, one Western diplomatic source in London said the governments of the region were - to a greater or lesser extent - co-operating with the tribunal.