Boris Tadic, President of the Republic of Serbia, made an official state visit to Sarajevo earlier this week. On Wednesday he met with the three members of the BiH Presidency, and gave a joint press conference with Presidency Chairman Nebojsa Radmanovic.
After welcoming Mr. Tadic, Mr. Radmanovic spoke about the importance of the EU accession process for both BiH and Serbia, and invited the EU to take further steps to assist the Western Balkan states in this process. Radmanovic also spoke of the importance of economic cooperation between BiH and Serbia, and noted that Serbia is at present the largest source of foreign investment in BiH. He also said that the two leaders had discussed issues related to their common border, issues which, according to Radmanovic, would be taken up again during a meeting in Croatia in the coming week.
Mr. Tadic emphasized in his remarks Serbia’s commitment to the well-being of BiH, and the “natural connections” between the two states. He made it clear that, as a signatory to the Dayton Agreements, Serbia has a responsibility toward BiH, but claims no right to interfere in Bosnian affairs. He stressed that Serbia respects the integrity and soveriegnty of all states, and would never cross the “red line” of interfering in BiH’s domestic affairs. He also said that while Serbia has “special relations” with Republika Srpska, it sought to build an equally strong relationship with the Federation, and to cooperate with BiH at the state level as well.
The entire transcript of these press statements, as published by the BiH Presidency, can be found here.
