MOSCOW, October 26 (RIA Novosti) - Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic failed to appear for the start of his trial on war crimes and genocide charges at The Hague's International Criminal Tribune on Monday.

Karadzic, 64, maintains he needed at least nine more months to prepare his defense. He is defending himself against charges that include the massacre of some 7,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica in 1995.

"We request Mr Karadzic to attend so that his trial is not further obstructed," judge O-Gon Kwon said before adjourning the proceedings.

Karadzic has said he has no plans to appear in court when the trial resumes on Tuesday.

Prosecutors have said Karadzic has had 15 months to prepare for the trial and should have been ready for court proceedings to begin. Karadzic insists he is innocent of the allegations brought against him, all of which date from the 1992-95 Bosnian war.

Karadzic was arrested last year after he had spent over 12 years in hiding.