“We cannot be Mladić's hostages”

“We cannot be Mladić's hostages”

Like former defense minister Zoran Stanković who used to say he could not guarantee that someone in the Army was not harboring Ratko Mladić, Ponoš says he is not certain about all its members, but trusts the Army’s general commitment to agreed  principles.

“The Serbian Army is comprised of 30,000 people. I cannot say what each of them is thinking, but I believe in the prevailing value system and an atmosphere that permeates the Army. It is the job that we must finish. The whole country cannot be held hostage by one man,” he said.

“If Serbia failed to arrest Ratko Mladić and hand him over to The Hague, the U.S. administration will cancel some of its assistance programs to the Serbian Army,” Ponoš said.

During his visit to the U.S., Ponoš conveyed Serbian government’s position, according to which top priority was assigned to completing the cooperation with The Hague.