BRUSSELS, May 3 (Xinhua) -- The European Union on Wednesday suspended association talks with Serbia-Montenegro to press for the handover of the top war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic.

    In his announcement of the breakdown of talks on the Stabilization and Association Agreement with Serbia, the EU's Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn insisted that Belgrade "must show that nobody is above the law and that anybody indicted for serious crimes will face justice."

    Rehn made the announcement after consulting with Carla Del Ponte, chief prosecutor of the tribunal in The Hague, the Netherlands.

    "It is disappointing that Belgrade has been unable to locate and detain Ratko Mladic," said the EU commissioner.

    But he promised to restart the talks "if there is a dramatic improvement in cooperation" from Belgrade.

    On Tuesday, Serbia's Deputy Premier Miroljub Labus predicted the suspension of the talks, upon the expiry of the April 30 deadline given by the European Commission to extradite Mladic to the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague.

    "It is most probable that this meeting, set for May 11, will be postponed," Labus said in reference to an imminent decision by Rehn on whether or not to proceed with the next round of talks.

    The conclusion of the Stabilization and Association Agreement will mark the first step for the Balkan country's integration into the 25-nation bloc.

    Rasim Ljajic, president of the Serbia-Montenegro National Council for Cooperation with the ICTY, said in a statement on Tuesday that Serbia must double its efforts to see that Mladic was delivered to The Hague tribunal irrespective of Wednesday's decision by Rehn.

    Mladic, who turned 63 in March, commanded Bosnian Serb armed forces during the 1992-1995 Bosnian war. He has been indicted for genocide and other war crimes by the ICTY.

    The ICTY said that Mladic had been taking shelter in Serbia since 1998. But Serbian authorities said that they had no knowledge of Mladic's whereabouts after he left Serbia-Montenegro military facilities in June 2002.

    The extradition of Mladic to ICTY is the main political condition that the European Union has placed on Serbia-Montenegro before concluding the Stabilization and Association Agreement. Enditem