PARIS-Serbia's foreign minister wants his country to become an official EU membership candidate this year and is ready to resume full diplomatic ties with EU nations that recognized Kosovo's independence, according to an interview published Wednesday.

Serbia's arrest of longtime fugitive and war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic "proves (the Serbian government's) seriousness and respect for international laws and its pro-European commitment," Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic was quoted as saying in Le Monde.

Karadzic was arrested Monday after more than a decade on the run. He faces charges by a U.N. tribunal of war crimes and genocide in Bosnia in the 1990s. A Serbian official said Wednesday he would be handed over to the tribunal this weekend or early next week.

His arrest "showed that there is not the slightest shadow over the will of our government to cooperate with the (tribunal), one of the conditions of our entry in the EU," Jeremic was quoted as saying.

Jeremic said Serbia "is counting on France," which holds the rotating EU presidency until the end of this year, to "support and obtain" official EU candidate status for Serbia in 2008.

He said he would propose to the Serbian Cabinet on Thursday "to authorize the return of our diplomats to EU countries that recognized" Kosovo's independence declaration.

The United States and several EU countries, including France, recognized Kosovo as an independent state in February. Serbia considers Kosovo part of its territory and recalled diplomats to several countries in response.

Jeremic insisted that resuming diplomatic ties did not mean Serbia was "surrendering" to international pressure over Kosovo.

He said Serbia would continue to block Kosovo's access to international bodies that include Serbia as a member, such as the International Monetary Fund.

The foreign minister was quoted as saying the Serbian government was preparing a resolution to present to the U.N. General Assembly in September, asking the International Court of Justice to rule on the legality of Kosovo's independence declaration.