Serbia, Bosnia Pledge Closer Ties After Tensions

Serbia and Bosnia signed four important protocols on Wednesday at their first joint government session in Sarajevo.

The first concerns research into missing persons from the conflict of the 1990s, protection of the historic Mehmed Pasa Sokolovic bridge in Visegrad, eastern Bosia, and stronger cooperation in the telecommunication and environmental sectors.

The two governments also discussed concrete activities to be implemented across their border along the river Drina, such as the construction of an electrical interconnection between the Serbian town of Ljubovljia and the Bosnian town of Bratunac, reinforcement of the border controls to prevent illegal entries and improvement of cooperation between police agencies.

"Bosnia is our most important partner in the region," Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic told the press conference after the meeting.

"For the first time since the war [of the 1990s] we were able to organize a joint session between our two governments, sending a clear message to our citizens in favour of cooperation and mutual understanding. This doesn't need to be a message of love, but it can be at least a clear stance against hate and conflicts," he said.

Denis Zvizdic, the President of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, said the joint session "symbolizes our trust in regional cooperation, and this is very important at a moment when Europe is once again worried about the future of the Western Balkans".

The message of closer cooperation between Belgrade and Sarajevo is unwelcome to leaders in Republika Srpska, the Serbian-dominated entity of Bosnia, which cherishes its special relationship with Serbia.

"Serbia is trying to promote regional cooperation, and this is good....