Britain, Europe, US Hail Arrest of Mladic

"There is a very good reason why the long arm of the international law has been looking for this man for such a long time," he added.

The UK Shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander said the arrest reflected that no one can evade justice.

"I think it sends an important message that however much you hide and however much you run the long arm of the law will find you,” Alexander said.

"There have been many people over many, many years who have been working for this outcome and I think we owe it to the victims of the terrible massacres in Srebrenica and Sarajevo that he now faces the full force of international law. It does, I think, remove one of the significant obstacles, perhaps the most significant obstacle, preventing Serbia being able to move towards a securer European future."

Former Liberal Democrat leader Lord Patty Ashdown, who was High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina between 2002 and 2007, said Mladic’s arrest and trial will offer "a chance for the whole Balkan region to put the past behind them".

Conservative MP Bob Stewart, who was a commander of UN troops in Bosnia in 1992, told the BBC: "It is very, very important that this man Mladic is brought to The Hague quickly, the trial starts quickly, the trial is expeditious in dealing with the matter and, actually, at the end of it justice prevails."

Other voices across the world echoed such sentiments.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy stated:"[The arrest] is very good news and it is a very courageous decision by the Serbian president. It is one more step towards Serbia's integration one day into the European Union."

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon called the arrest a “historic day for international justice. It marks an important step in our will to end impunity. I thank the Serbian government and president for their efforts."