Expected effects of Serbia - RS agreement

Expected effects of Serbia - RS agreement

The announcement of the agreement has received negative reactions from the Bosnia-Herzegovina Federation. Serbian President Boris Tadić answered the criticisms, stating that these ties with Banja Luka are not doing anything to worsen relations between Belgrade and Sarajevo.

In a statement give on BHT1, Tadić said that the document represents the same political messages given during his recent visit to Sarajevo, adding that it has nothing to do with the Kosovo status issue.

“When the Kosovo discussions are over, I will not stop trying to establish closer ties with the political leaders and people of the RS and the people of Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Bosnian-Croatian Federation.” Tadić said.

Political experts in Bosnia-Herzegovina say that the document represents some sort of a political game being played by Belgrade and Banja Luka.

With this agreement, the current government in Belgrade wants to put pressure on the West in light of the Kosovo solution, and is preparing the field for elections, which will be held next year. On the other side, RS officials feel that it is important to show their closeness to Serbia before the next elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The real potential effects of the agreement, however, are not that drastic. Serbia will have a hard time deciding to try and use the RS as an argument for Kosovo, because, in the end, it could result in the international community wanting to end the RS’s existence as an entity within Bosnia-Herzegovina altogether.

Analysts also claim that Belgrade is aware of the fact that if Serbia was to begin talking of a referendum in the RS immediately after the Kosovo problem is solved, similar discussions would arise in Vojvodina and Sandžak as well.

Republic of Srpska Prime Minister Milorad Dodik said that the insistence on special relations between the RS and Serbia does not violate the Dayton Agreement.

“The Dayton Agreement states that such special relations can be created with Yugoslavia and neighboring countries. Also, I do not think that the fact that we have Serbia and Montenegro now instead of Yugoslavia should change anything. Insisting on this can only lead to more misunderstandings.” Dodik told Sarajevo daily Dnevni Avaz.

He said that the RS will offer a similar agreement to Croatia as well.