The European Union has told Serbia and Montenegro that talks on closer ties will be put on hold unless it hands over war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic.
European commissioner Ollie Rehn told the BBC that talks planned for early April would be called off until there was full co-operation from Serbia.
Mr Mladic is wanted in connection with the massacre of nearly 8,000 Muslims at Srebrenica and the siege of Sarajevo.
Serbian officials say security forces have been told to arrest the general.
Deputy Prime Minister Miroljub Labus said he hoped this would happen by the end of March.
Risk
Mr Rehn said he believed the Belgrade government had the political will to bring Mr Mladic in.
He added that the army and security services had to obey the orders of the prime minister "to the letter".
Mr Rehn said it was necessary for a country wishing to join the EU to prove its army was under full democratic control.
"Serbia now has time roughly until the end of March, and I hope that full co-operation can be achieved by then, so as to avoid disruption and putting the negotiations on hold," he said.
UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw told reporters that if Serbia failed to co-operate, it ultimately risked an end to the talks with the EU that began only last October.
(BBC)
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