London ? The British government said Thursday it was willing to jail former Liberian President Charles Taylor if he is convicted of war crimes, breaking an impasse that had stalled his trial before an international tribunal.

Taylor was captured in Nigeria in March and brought to Sierra Leone, where he pleaded innocent before a U.N.-backed war crimes court in April to charges stemming from Sierra Leone’s civil war.

The Sierra Leone court had asked the Netherlands-based International Criminal Court to host the trial, fearing Taylor’s trial in Africa might revive regional instability.

The Netherlands agreed, on condition that a third country jail Taylor if he is convicted or take him in if acquitted. Denmark, Austria and Sweden had all rejected requests to jail Taylor.