THE HAGUE, February 24 (RIA Novosti) - The International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia said Friday it would not grant a temporary release to former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic for medical treatment in Moscow.
The trial against Milosevic, which was launched four years ago, has resumed after a six-week break owing to the 64-year-old defendant's health problems, including high blood pressure, persistent headaches, and pain in the heart.
Milosevic, charged with genocide, asked last December for permission to go to Moscow for treatment at the Bakulev Institute, Russia's leading cardiologic center.
The Russian Foreign Ministry promised that Milosevic would be returned to The Hague for his trial as soon as the treatment course was over.
The ministry's official spokesman, Mikhail Kamynin, told the Russia Today television channel: "Russia has provided the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia with all necessary documents to serve as a basis for the tribunal's decision regarding Milosevic's temporary release for treatment in Russia."
According to Kamynin, the former Yugoslav president also provided personal guarantees he would return to The Hague after the treatment.
Russian daily Kommersant speculated, however, that if allowed to come to Russia for treatment, Milosevic would try to gain political asylum and stay in the country.
