Putin involved in secret operation: Russians want to 'extract' Mladić to Moscow for treatment

Russia is undertaking a secret operation to, at least temporarily, extract Hague indictee Ratko Mladić from the Scheveningen prison and bring him to Moscow for treatment, writes the Moscow newspaper "Istina", as reported by the Patria news agency.

Namely, Mladić was recently visited in The Hague by Jelena Guskova, a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences known for her sympathy towards Serbs, and Pavel Dorokhin, a deputy in the Russian Duma who heads the Russian Committee for the Protection of General Mladić.

As reported by Zagreb's "Jutarnji list" citing the Moscow press, they agreed with the leadership of the Hague Tribunal that a group of Russian doctors would travel to the Netherlands in mid-June to examine Ratko Mladić and prepare him to be transferred to Moscow for treatment, at the latest by August.

Incidentally, Russian media write that Mladić is seriously ill. The trial has been interrupted several times due to his poor health. As Pavel Dorokhin stated, Mladić would stay in Moscow for treatment for at least a month, and Russia would, it seems, guarantee his transport and subsequent return to the Hague detention unit.

This is not the first such attempt to "extract" Mladić for treatment in Moscow, and Russia is even conducting negotiations on this matter with NATO representatives. A source for the weekly "Istina" says these are practically the only negotiations between Russia and the NATO alliance since relations between Moscow and the West fell to their lowest, almost Cold War level, due to the Ukrainian crisis.

Dorokhin stated that "the operation to transfer Mladić to Moscow is not only of a medical nature but also a very delicate political issue."

According to him, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been involved in the operation to bring Mladić to Moscow for recovery, as well as "some other foreign statesmen." Dorokhin recounted that he spoke with several representatives of the Hague Tribunal, who "are not averse" to Mladić traveling to Moscow for treatment, but the decision will also depend on a medical examination.