Von der Leyen criticizes official support at Ratko Mladić's funeral

The images from Ratko Mladić’s funeral yesterday in Belgrade were shocking. Ratko Mladić was a convicted war criminal. He was responsible for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. He died while serving a life sentence for the Srebrenica genocide and other crimes. The elements of official support and the presence of some senior Serbian officials at the funeral are deeply regrettable. They demonstrate a failure to confront a dark chapter in Europe’s recent history and contradict the values underpinning Serbia’s path towards the European Union. Our thoughts are with all the victims of the crimes committed in the countries of former Yugoslavia.