Bosnia Political Crisis Talks Break Down

For the Bosnian Serb Prime Minister Milorad Dodik the package went too far. Photo by gdb.rferl.org

Crisis talks aiming to end years of political stalemate among leaders of Bosnia's divided communities have ended with no tangible results.

The talks were called by the EU and US in a bid to bring in constitutional reform and prepare Bosnia for eventual EU and Nato membership.

But representatives of the three main ethnic groups rejected the proposals, the BBC reported.

Fourteen years after Bosnia's devastating war of independence came to an end, there are fears that a new conflict could erupt.

The Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims) and Croats said the proposed reforms did not sufficiently strengthen state institutions.

But for the Bosnian Serb Prime Minister Milorad Dodik the package went too far.

The Bosnian Serbs strongly oppose any moves that would jeopardise their desire for more autonomy, and Dodik said the proposal risked diluting the power of his part of Bosnia, the Republika Srpska.

Under the 1995 Dayton peace accords which brought an end to the conflict, two separate entities were created in Bosnia - a Bosniak-Croat federation and a Serb republic.

They are linked by a common parliament, a three-member presidency and a council of ministers - but the division of authority remains unclear, and each side interprets it in different ways.

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