Belgrade Accord With Bosnian Serbs Wins International Approval
BANJA LUKA, Bosnia-Herzegovina, March 7 (News Agencies) - An agreement setting up special ties between Bosnian Serbs and Yugoslavia is "entirely appropriate," a deputy to the international community's top mediator in Bosnia said Wednesday.
"The text of the agreement is acceptable and does not threaten any of the constituent peoples of Bosnia," Ralph Johnson, the deputy of international community's top mediator in Bosnia Wolfgang Petritsch, told a press conference, adding that it will work to the benefit of all Bosnia's citizens.
The agreement, aimed at boosting economic and social ties, between Republika Srpska (RS) and Yugoslavia was signed Monday.
Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica emphasized then that Belgrade respected Bosnia's sovereignty, clearly signaling there would be no support for Bosnian Serb separatists.
The Office of High Representative considers that the agreement combined with the establishment of diplomatic ties between Yugoslavia and Bosnia last December "provides a framework for developing relations" between both these two states and also between the RS and Yugoslavia, Johnson added.
He stressed that this "framework is acceptable for us."
"What is now important is full transparency as this agreement is implemented and filled with other annexes," he said.
Under the Dayton accords, Bosnia is made from two semi-independent entities - Serbs' Republika Srpska and the Muslim-Croat Federation - that have the right to form special ties with neighboring countries.
The Muslim-Croat Federation already established special relations with Croatia in December 1998.
