(BRUSSELS) - Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic insisted Tuesday that Belgrade was committed to international law and a European future, following the arrest of Bosnian Serb war-time leader Radovan Karadzic.

"We are very serious about our future in the European Union, we demonstrated this yesterday," he told reporters in Brussels, a day after war crimes suspect Karadzic was arrested in Serbia.

"We want to be a cornerstone of peace, we want to be a regional player for regional stability" in the Balkans, he said, ahead of talks between EU foreign ministers.

"We are truly committed to peace and international rule of law, be it when it comes to our cooperation with The Hague tribunal or be it in our defence of our sovereignty over Kosovo," he said.

Karadzic is wanted by the UN war crimes court in the Netherlands for genocide over the massacre in Srebrenica, Bosnia in 1995.

Serbia has signed a key pact on closer ties with the EU but the agreement cannot be endorsed until Belgrade demonstrates "full cooperation" with the UN court.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia five months ago and while the move has been recognised by around 20 of the 27 EU nations, Belgrade vehemently opposes it and has the strong backing of Russia.

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