Jeremic Not Ruling Out Pressure over Republika Srpska

Vuk Jeremic

Vuk Jeremic, president of the People's Party and a former foreign minister of Serbia, has said that new pressure could be exerted on Belgrade in relation to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Jeremic said Slovak diplomat Miroslav Lajcak was not just the European Union's envoy to the Belgrade-Pristina negotiations, but for the entire West Balkans. "Since the issue of Bosnia and Herzegovina is being talked about more and more, the meaning to be read into it is that it is laying the groundwork to try to strip Republika Srpska of its powers," Jeremic explained.

He stressed that Serbia should not stand for blackmail in negotiations on Kosovo. "It is solely up to us whether the self-proclaimed 'Kosovo' will get confirmation of its sovereignty in international law by joining the U.N. That is the bare minimum that we hold in our hands at this moment, and we should take care not to let it slip through out fingers," Jeremic said.

Jeremic said the Washington Agreement that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic signed at the White House had been a gamble that had not paid off, a thumbing of the nose at Russia and a violation of trust with other big players, in addition to losing us credibility among international institutions, like the U.N. Security Council, whose resolution on Jerusalem Serbia trampled by inking the deal.

"I'm afraid that the so-called Washington Deal hasn't fallen through, at least the parts of the document that are to Serbia's detriment. For example, Israel has recognized Kosovo and established diplomatic relations with Pristina as a result of that 'agreement,' and that cannot be undone," Jeremic said.