The High Representative and EU Special Representative, Valentin Inzko, met in Sarajevo today with Russia’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Titov. Their meeting comes just ahead of the meeting of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) which will take place in Sarajevo next week, and of which Russia is a key member.
The High Representative set out that recent months have produced little progress on completing the ‘5+2’ agenda set by the PIC in February 2008 as a pre-requirement for a decision to close the OHR. The HR/EUSR Inzko and Deputy Foreign Minister Titov also discussed other relevant political issues.
The High Representative welcomed positive developments in interstate relations in the region in particular noting the positive influence of the Istanbul declaration, Serbia’s Srebrenica resolution, the commitment of President Tadic to attend the fifteenth commemoration of the Srebrenica genocide as well as the positive impact of Croatian President Josipovic’s visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina. “I see this as a positive trend and as a sign of the region as a whole moving toward the European Union,” said HR Inzko. This positive atmosphere needs to be used by BiH’s politicians to focus on the key issues that concern this country’s citizens; new jobs, investments and better living standards; “issues on which the EU integration process offers proven solutions” said HR/EUSR Inzko.