Jeremić: Serbia wants to help Bosnia

Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic says Bosnia-Herzegovina is Serbia’s nearest and most important neighbor and that Serbia is ready to help Bosnia on its EU path. After meeting with Bosnian Presidency member Haris Silajdzic and Foreign Minister Sven Alkalaj in Sarajevo, Jeremic said that Serbia was ready to help Bosnia-Herzegovina to stabilize in order to progress faster towards the EU. Jeremic: Serbia wants to help Bosnia He pointed out that the citizens of Serbia would soon be able travel to the countries of EU without visas and that Serbia was ready to grant Bosnia-Herzegovina technical assistance and advice in that process so that Bosnian citizens could move freely too. Jeremic also praised the fact that the two countries had mutually respected each other’s sovereignity and territorial integrity, stressing that Serbia supported Bosnia-Herzegovina in all international organizations and institutions. ’’Serbia supported Bosnia-Herzegovina as a member of UN Security Council. I think that’s important because this part of the Balkans will now have a direct vote in this institution,“ he told a press conference in Sarajevo. The Serbian minister said Belgrade supported every agreement in Bosnia-Herzegovina agreed upon by the three constitutive peoples, even though Serbia was not a part of the reform negotiations. ’’We have a future together in the EU and if we support each other I am sure we will succeed,“ said Jeremic, adding that Serbia was ready to be a part of the wider negotiating process. He said that the reason for his visit was to give Bosnia-Herzegovina a message that Belgrade supported dialogue that could lead to compromise. ’’We want to contribute to finding a solution which will be good for everybody,“ Jeremic said, adding that Republic of Srpska Prime Minister Milorad Dodik and all democratically elected representatives from Bosnia-Herzegovina would always be warmly welcomed in Belgrade. He said he was hopeful that the issue of appointing a Bosnian ambassador to Belgrade would be resolved soon, without going into further details. Jeremic vigorously criticized the agreement between Kosovo and Macedonia on the demarcation of the borders, which, he said, had seen Serbia stripped of about 2,500 hectares of land. He stressed that it had been a violation of Serbia’s territorial integrity and that a protest note had been sent to Pristina and Skopje. Jeremic also said that he was pleased with Brussels and Belgrade’s decisions to keep the issues of Kosovo status and Serbia’s EU integration as two separate processes. He did not discuss Bosnia-Herzegovina’s position on Kosovo with Silajdzic today, stating his belief that there would be no change of position when it came to Kosovo in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The foreign minister will visit Banja Luka today to meet the Serb member of the presidency, Nebojsa Radmanovic, and RS Prime Minister Dodik. Jeremic's visit to Bosnia-Herzegovina comes just a day after negotiations between domestic political leaders and U.S. and EU representatives over reforms necessary for further Euro-Atlantic integration ended without agreement. Ahead of his visit he said that Serbia wanted “the best possible relations with Bosnia-Herzegovina” and added that stability there was of key importance for peace and stability in the entire region. “It is in Serbia’s interests that a compromise be found which will make Bosnia-Herzegovina function more efficiently and speed up the European integration process,” said Jeremic. Vuk Jeremic (FoNet, archive)

Jeremić: Serbia wants to help Bosnia

He pointed out that the citizens of Serbia would soon be able travel to the countries of EU without visas and that Serbia was ready to grant Bosnia-Herzegovina technical assistance and advice in that process so that Bosnian citizens could move freely too.

Jeremić also praised the fact that the two countries had mutually respected each other’s sovereignity and territorial integrity, stressing that Serbia supported Bosnia-Herzegovina in all international organizations and institutions.

’’Serbia supported Bosnia-Herzegovina as a member of UN Security Council. I think that’s important because this part of the Balkans will now have a direct vote in this institution,“ he told a press conference in Sarajevo.

The Serbian minister said Belgrade supported every agreement in Bosnia-Herzegovina agreed upon by the three constitutive peoples, even though Serbia was not a part of the reform negotiations.

’’We have a future together in the EU and if we support each other I am sure we will succeed,“ said Jeremić, adding that Serbia was ready to be a part of the wider negotiating process.

He said that the reason for his visit was to give Bosnia-Herzegovina a message that Belgrade supported dialogue that could lead to compromise.

’’We want to contribute to finding a solution which will be good for everybody,“ Jeremić said, adding that Republic of Srpska Prime Minister Milorad Dodik and all democratically elected representatives from Bosnia-Herzegovina would always be warmly welcomed in Belgrade.

He said he was hopeful that the issue of appointing a Bosnian ambassador to Belgrade would be resolved soon, without going into further details.

Jeremić vigorously criticized the agreement between Kosovo and Macedonia on the demarcation of the borders, which, he said, had seen Serbia stripped of about 2,500 hectares of land.

He stressed that it had been a violation of Serbia’s territorial integrity and that a protest note had been sent to Priština and Skopje.

Jeremić also said that he was pleased with Brussels and Belgrade’s decisions to keep the issues of Kosovo status and Serbia’s EU integration as two separate processes.

He did not discuss Bosnia-Herzegovina’s position on Kosovo with Silajdžić today, stating his belief that there would be no change of position when it came to Kosovo in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The foreign minister will visit Banja Luka today to meet the Serb member of the presidency, Nebojša Radmanović, and RS Prime Minister Dodik.

Jeremić's visit to Bosnia-Herzegovina comes just a day after negotiations between domestic political leaders and U.S. and EU representatives over reforms necessary for further Euro-Atlantic integration ended without agreement. Ahead of his visit he said that Serbia wanted “the best possible relations with Bosnia-Herzegovina” and added that stability there was of key importance for peace and stability in the entire region.

“It is in Serbia’s interests that a compromise be found which will make Bosnia-Herzegovina function more efficiently and speed up the European integration process,” said Jeremić.