Serbian President Boris Tadić: Serbia committed to Dayton

Serbia remains committed to the Dayton agreement, Serbian President Boris Tadić stated. He stressed that Serbia would continue to protect and respect the legitimate rights of Serbs and all nations who live in the Western Balkans, as well as the sovereignity and territorial integrity of all countries in the region.

Serbia thus gains legitimacy and ensures the consistent policy when it comes to the preservation of our interests in Kosovo, he said after the talks with President of the Republic of Srpska Rajko Kuzmanović.

President Tadić said that cooperation between Serbia and RS was improved significantly in the past few years, especially in the field of economy.

“Let me say with confidence that Serbia, as a signatory of the Dayton Accords, remains committed to the international treaty which has guaranteed peace and stability, not only in Bosnia, but also the entire Western Balkans”, Tadić said.

He reminded that the Dayton agreement provided for the special ties between the RS and Serbia. Tadić also said that in accordance with the UN and EU standards Serbia wanted to preserve the identity of the Serbian people in all countries of the region, while respecting the integrity of all countries in the Western Balkans.

Rajko Kuzmanović, whose presidency ends in five days, said that Serbia, a guarantor of the Dayton peace, had always stood by the RS when needed since the day the agreement had been signed.

“I informed President Tadić that there are repeated tendencies in Bosnia to radically change the constitution after the upcoming elections and create a different system of government. We believe that no other system of government can be put in effect”, Kuzmanović said.

President of the RS pointed out that no one can accept a unitary concept of Bosnia: “Bosnia must remain a complex state with two entities in which there are three equal, constitutive nations.”

Kuzmanović said that the position RS held on Kosovo was that it would support whatever the result of negotiations between Belgrade and Priština would be.