Serbian President Boris Tadic said during a visit to the northwestern Bosnian city of Banja Luka on Tuesday that Serbia would continue to support the EU integration of all neighbouring countries, but would insist that they respect Belgrade's position on the status of Kosovo.
Speaking to the press after a meeting of the Serbia-Republika Srpska Cooperation Council, Tadic said that Serbia supported the survival of Bosnia and Herzegovina based on the Dayton peace agreement, which ended the 1992-1995 Bosnian war.
He said that reforms in Bosnia and Herzegovina were possible and acceptable only if they were the result of talks between the country's three constituent peoples (Bosniaks, Serbs, and Croats) and two entities (Republika Srpska and the Bosniak-Croat Federation).
By supporting the integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia in return expects respect for its position on Kosovo, its former province which gained independence in 2008.
"Serbia will support the speedy EU integration of each country, but on no account will it renounce its legitimate rights to Kosovo," Tadic said.
The Council for Cooperation between Serbia and Republika Srpska is a coordinating body established under the Dayton agreement.
Tadic said that today's meeting mainly focused on economic and infrastructure projects, such as construction of power plants and motorways.
Bosnian Serb Prime Minister Milorad Dodik said Republika Srpska and Serbia were cooperating very well, adding that since 1994 Serbia had invested about 850 million euros in Bosnia and Herzegovina, mostly in its Serb entity.
