Vekaric said that Serbia had fully honoured the agreement reached in Zagreb last week, that it had submitted the list discussed at the time and waited for a certain period of time as agreed, so that the Office of the Croatian Chief State Prosecutor could state its position on the Purda case. Expressing hope that the Bosnian judiciary would transfer Purda to Serbia, Vekaric said the Serbian prosecutors regretted the decision of the Osijek County Prosecutor's Office not to take on the case.

"If he is extradited to Serbia, we will call on all observers to come and monitor the trial here. As before, we guarantee all suspects a fair trial," Vekaric said.

Recalling the Serbian prosecution's commitment to regional cooperation in the prosecution of war crimes as a means of reconciliation in the region, Vekaric said that the cooperation in the Purda case had been intensive.

The extradition custody for Vukovar war veteran Tihomir Purda was extended at Serbia's request, the State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina told Hina earlier in the day.

"Serbia on Thursday sent a request, via the Justice Ministry, that the extradition detention for Tihomir Purda be prolonged to the maximum period of 40 days. The request was sent so that Serbia could forward the documentation necessary for the decision on his extradition," spokeswoman for the Bosnian court Selma Hadzic told media.

The Croatian Chief State Prosecutor's Office said on Thursday that Croatia would not request Purda's extradition from Bosnia and Herzegovina because the documentation submitted by Serbian authorities in the case did not contain any grounds for launching criminal proceedings against him.

The Serbian prosecution charges Purda with war crimes against the wounded in Vukovar in 1991.