In a written interview with the Financial Times, Mr Karadzic said he had already begun “requesting information from countries such as Germany, France, [the] United Kingdom and the United States” that he claimed would detail how they had put their strategic self-interest ahead of peace for Balkan ethnic groups.

“I hope that through my trial, the people of Bosnia will see what was done to us by members of the international community, and how we were manipulated,” he said. He had also pressed Italy and Malta for records of arms shipments to the Bosnian army that his troops fought against.