UN still divided on calling Bosnian Srebrenica massacre 'genocide' 20 years on

The UN Security Council has postponed a vote recognising the Srebrenica massacre as genocide after Russia threatened to veto the draft text, even as Serbia's prime minister called for reconciliation 20 years after the slaughter.

The vote - led by Britain and which condemns the mass killing of 8,000 Muslim men and boys by Bosnian Serb forces in July 1995, the worst atrocity in Europe since the second world war - was due to be held overnight following the delay.

The 15-member council was hoping to formally recognise the killings as an act of genocide for the first time this week as Bosnia prepares for national commemorations to mark the 20th anniversary on Saturday.

"This has been a difficult negotiation. Discussions have gone right to the wire," said a spokesman for the British mission after the vote was delayed twice on Tuesday.

"Given the significance of the anniversary, we're committed to getting the broadest level of support from council members. We hope this delay will allow us to do so."

Bosnian Serb leaders had lobbied Russia to block the draft UN resolution, arguing that it was "anti-Serb" because it focused on the killings in the final months of the bloody war 1992-95 Bosnian war.