Milosevic 'as petulant as ever'

Milosevic has been defiant since the start of his trial in 2002

Ex Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic has shown at his trial the petulance that marked his years in power, former Nato commander Wesley Clark has said.

"I saw no change in his demeanour, his stubbornness," Mr Clark said on Tuesday after testifying against Mr Milosevic.

Mr Clark has ended two days of closed-door testimony at the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague.

Now a US presidential candidate, the retired general directed Nato's bombing campaign against Serbia in 1999.

Mr Clark was a member of the US team that helped negotiate the 1995 peace agreement ending the Bosnian war.

It was a typical Milosevic performance - it was grandiose, misplaced... overly personal Wesley Clark

He is one is one of the most high-profile witnesses to testify at the tribunal.

On Tuesday, he told reporters that during his court confrontation with Mr Milosevic he had seen no change in "his petulance, from the man I believe was responsible for so much of the slaughter and victims in the Balkans".

"It was a typical Milosevic performance. It was grandiose in effort, misplaced, in some ways overly personal," Mr Clark added.

On the record

In an unprecedented agreement between the court and the US, Washington will be allowed to review Mr Clark's testimony before it is made public.

The US will have two days to apply for parts of the testimony to be removed from the public record if it considers them harmful to US national interests.

Clark has a long experience of dealing with Milosevic

An edited recording is due to be made public on Friday.

Mr Clark said before testifying that he expected to give information on more than 100 hours of meetings over four years with Mr Milosevic during the 1990s.

Prosecutors said this would help to establish what Mr Milosevic knew about war crimes and when he knew it.

The former Yugoslav president has often accused Nato of aggression.