Dayton Agreement not a deal aiming for solution in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Turkish president

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) - The 1995 Dayton Accords, which ended the deadly war among Bosnian Serbs, Croats, and Muslim Bosniaks, was not a deal aiming for a solution in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Turkish president said on Thursday.

"Regarding Bosnia and Herzegovina, in my meeting with the leaders during my visit there, if it is asked where this distress comes from, I think it comes from Dayton. Unfortunately, Dayton could not be an agreement aiming for solution in Bosnia and Herzegovina," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

His remarks came at a news conference with his Croatian counterpart Zoran Milanovic in the capital Zagreb, the last stop of his three-nation Balkan tour following Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia.

The Dayton Accords, initiated at the Wright-Patterson US Air Force base near Dayton, Ohio, on Nov. 21, 1995, ended a brutal civil war in Bosnia and Herzegovina that resulted in around 100,000 deaths over three-and-a-half years.

Dayton built Bosnia and Herzegovina as a single state, but consisting of two entities – the Croat-Muslim Federation of Bosnia and Republika Srpska – as well as Brcko, a neutral, self-governing canton.

The accords, which were agreed upon by then Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, Bosnia’s Alija Izetbegovic, and Croatian leader Franjo Tudjman, also established several mechanisms that institutionalized Bosnian, Serb, and Croat divisions.

"But under the conditions of that day, I heard this from the late Alija himself, 'We had nothing else to do,' he said, 'We were forced to sign it then'. It means he was not pleased," Erdogan said.

He added the three leaders should make the decision about Bosnia-Herzegovina with an understanding and coming together.

"The unity, solidarity, and integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina is very important. They paid a high price. I hope that from now on, Bosnia-Herzegovina will not pay a price anymore," he added.