DHAKA: Ex-Bosnian Serb army chief Ratko Mladic has refused to testify after former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic called him as a defence witness at his war crimes trial at The Hague.

Denouncing the UN tribunal as ‘satanic’, Mladic said testifying could prejudice his own case, reports the BBC.

Both men deny charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

They exchanged genial greetings in their first public appearance together since the 1990s Bosnia war ended.

As he left court, Mladic said, ‘Thanks a lot, Radovan. I’m sorry, these idiots wouldn`t let me speak. They defend Nato bombs’.

Karadzic, 68, faces 11 charges, including genocide relating to the Srebrenica massacre in July 1995.

BDST: 1920 HRS, JAN 28, 2014