Mladic still at large - Del Ponte

Chief UN prosecutor Carla del Ponte yesterday denied rumours that top war crimes fugitive Ratko Mladic had been arrested and urged Serbia to find him or risk hurting its bid to join the European Union.

"Mladic remains at large, unfortunately," she told a news conference at the Hague tribunal. "The false rumours... about the arrest of Mladic have absolutely no basis whatsoever."

Despite official denials by Serbia, rumours have been swirling since Tuesday that the 63-year-old fugitive was either under arrest or being talked into surrender to salvage Belgrade's EU membership prospects, up for review next week.

"Serbia knows that negotiations may be suspended or may never conclude if Belgrade fails to cooperate fully," Ms Del Ponte said. She repeated she had no doubt that Mladic was in Serbia, within reach of the authorities.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn is due to present a report to EU Foreign Ministers next Monday or Tuesday on whether Serbia is cooperating with the tribunal. He has hinted that association talks could be frozen if Mladic is not handed over.

The Serbian government also repeated its denial of any developments on the Mladic case, adding that "such fabrications are not only totally frivolous but really damaging".

Spokesman Srdjan Djuric said: "It is extremely important for the government to remain a trustworthy partner (for The Hague) and for misinformation not to jeopardise its credibility."

After meeting EU officials for talks on practical issues such as banking links, Serbia's Deputy Prime Minister Miroljub Labus said Belgrade knew the clock was ticking.