Republika Srpska head accuses West of undermining Dayton Agreement for Peace in Bosnia Herzegovina

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) – Russia remains the only country that still adheres to the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, also known as the Dayton Accords, while the West undermines it, Milorad Dodik, president of Bosnia Herzegovina's Republika Srpska, said on Thursday.

At a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg, Dodik expressed his gratitude to Moscow for its unwavering support for the Dayton Agreement, which ended the three-and-a-half-year Bosnian war, according to a statement issued by the Kremlin.

"I would like to thank you for Russia's principled stance on the Dayton Peace Agreement. As the guarantor of the agreement, Russia has remained true to its principles, while the West is undermining it, causing its implementation to collapse," Dodik said.

Dodik asserted that the Serbian people in Bosnia and Herzegovina are being deprived of the rights guaranteed to them in the constitution.

In response, Putin reaffirmed Russia's unwavering commitment to the Dayton Accords, emphasizing that only the terms fixed in these international legal documents serve as the foundation for peace in the country.

Putin also pledged to continue contributing to the improvement of the situation in the Balkans.

The Dayton Agreement, signed in Dec. 1995, ended the Bosnian War by establishing a framework for peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It divided the country into two entities -- the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska -- under a central government with a rotating presidency among Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs, and included provisions for human rights and refugee return.