Belgrade, Serbia ? U.S. and British agents have joined the search for top U.N. war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic, Serbia’s defense minister said in comments published Saturday.

Serbian media reported earlier in the week that American and British intelligence agents were helping Serbian security services find Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb commander wanted on genocide charges.

Mladic is wanted by the U.N. court in The Hague, Netherlands, for allegedly orchestrating the 1995 massacre of 8,000 Muslims in Srebrenica. He is believed to be hiding in Serbia under the protection of hard-liners in the police and the military.

The Serbian government insists it has done all it could to locate Mladic. Some officials recently have promised to step up the search, and said they would call in Western intelligence services to help.

Serbia’s failure to capture Mladic has led to the suspension of pre-membership talks with the European Union – a major blow to the country’s efforts at reform following years of pariah status under late ex-President Slobodan Milosevic.