Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, who was found dead in his prison cell at the UN detention centre near The Hague, could be buried in Russia where his brother and wife now reside, even as Moscow suspected foul play in his death and sought a thorough probe.
"I do not rule out that Milosevic would be buried in Russia," Former Chief of the international department of the Russian Defence Ministry under ex-president Boris Yeltsin, General Leonid Ivashov, said in an interview to Channel 1 TV.
Milosevic was found dead on Saturday in the custody of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) near the Netherlands capital.
Milosevic's widow Mira Markovic has demanded that her husband's body be flown to Moscow immediately for autopsy, Radio Mayak reported.
Meanwhile, a number of prominent Russian lawmakers including Chief of nationalist Motherland Party Dmitry Rogozin and Deputy Speaker of State Duma (Lower House of Parliament) Lyubov Sliska have suspected foul play, noting that Milosevic is the second Serb leader to die in the custody of ICTY within a month and demanded thorough investigation.
Russian lawmakers underscored that ICTY was created to justify the US-lead NATO aggression on the former Yugoslavia.
{{/usCountry}}Russian lawmakers underscored that ICTY was created to justify the US-lead NATO aggression on the former Yugoslavia.
{{/usCountry}}The Russian Foreign Ministry voiced regret that the ICTY denied Milosevic the chance to receive medical treatment in Moscow.