Prague  - The Czech Republic welcomed the arrest of Serbian war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic as "a positive signal" by Serbia's new democratic government that brings Belgrade closer to the European Union, the Czech Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.

The move opened a path to "much more intense relations between Serbia and the European Union", which would gradually bring Belgrade to the EU, the ministry said in a statement.

London - The British government has hailed the arrest of Bosnian Serb war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic as "good news" that will open up a brighter future for Serbia in Europe.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband said in a statement early Tuesday: "This arrest will help close the region's decades of conflict, and pave the way for a brighter, European future for Serbia and the region."

Washington - Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic's arrest shows that Serbia is committed to bringing war-crimes suspects to justice, the White House said Monday.

Karadzic played a role in "a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing" against non-Serbs and the mass murder of thousands of Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat civilians, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.

The United States has pressured Serbia for years to arrest Karadzic and turn him over to the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, and at times has withheld financial aid from Serbia.