( Reuters ) - Serbia is ready to pay a reward of 1 million euros for information leading to the arrest of top war crimes fugitive Ratko Mladic, officials said on Friday.
"The decision on the award was made by the Council for National Security late last night," Rasim Ljajic, Serbia's point man for the Hague war crimes tribunal, told Beta news agency.
The arrest of Mladic, a Bosnian Serb former general who is indicted for genocide by the U.N. court, is a key condition for Serbia to sign a Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the European Union, the first step towards membership.
Ljajic said the Council additionally offered two rewards of 250,000 euros each for information that could lead to the arrest of two other fugitives, Bosnian Serb Stojan Zupljanin, a former senior police commander, and Croatian Serb leader Goran Hadzic.
But there would be no reward for information on Radovan Karadzic, the Bosnian Serb political leader indicted on the same charges as Mladic for his role in the 1992-95 Bosnia war.
"He is not a Serbian citizen, and there was no legal basis to offer a reward," Ljajic said. It is not publicly known whether the other three fugitives are Serb citizens.
The Council for National Security was established in January 2006 to coordinate the work of Serbia's secret services in arresting war crimes suspects.
Serbia's progress in arresting the men is closely watched by Hague Chief Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte, who then reports to Brussels. Her recommendations resulted in the freeze of Serbia's talks with the EU in 2006, and their resumption in June.