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The presidents of Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia met at an unprecedented summit in İstanbul over the weekend, bringing the troubled Balkans closer to lasting peace after years of hostilities and war.
Begun by the joint efforts of the foreign ministers of the three countries last year, the İstanbul summit on Saturday was the first of its kind. In the meeting, where Serbian President Boris Tadic and Haris Silajdzic, the chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, shook hands for the first time, the Serbian president voiced support for Bosnia's NATO and European Union membership aspirations and its territorial integrity. Bosnia and Serbia are often at loggerheads because of Serbia's support for Bosnian Serb aggressors during the 1992-1995 Bosnian war. This has sometimes led to local clashes despite an official end of hostilities.

During the historic summit, the Bosnian and Serbian leaders had bilateral talks for two-and-a-half hours. Following the meeting, the leaders released the İstanbul Declaration in which they decided to meet three times over two years through institutionalized meetings. The next presidential summit, tentatively scheduled for the fall of this year, expects to see Croatia join the council.

The summit is a culmination of a series of foreign ministerial gatherings among the three countries. The foreign ministers’ last meeting was held on Feb. 9 in Ankara, the fifth such gathering since October of last year.

Speaking following the bilateral talks, Turkish President Abdullah Gül praised the Bosnian and Serbian presidents for the leadership and vision they have shown and said that the Balkans would reunite under a NATO and EU umbrella.

“There are ups and downs in the histories of our countries. But here we have a new beginning ahead,” Serbian President Tadic told the conference. He said Serbia would support Bosnia’s membership in the EU and congratulated it for finally receiving a Membership Action Plan (MAP) at NATO’s latest foreign ministerial meeting last week. The Serbian leader also vowed non-interference in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s internal affairs and to support its stability.

Saying that they have surrendered war criminals to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for a fair trial, the Serbian president said Serbia supports the sovereignty and independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Noting that relations between the two have improved following every visit, Tadic said these are significant steps and tangible examples toward achieving an enduring peace.

Along with the presidents, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic and Bosnian Foreign Minister Sven Alkalaj attended the summit.

Expressing his gratitude to President Gül and the Turkish government for their initiative to find a lasting peace in the Balkans, the Bosnian leader said this historic moment is a new beginning, adding that the Serbian leader’s promise not to destabilize Bosnia is very important for the Bosnian nation.

Stressing that they are working to reach the goal of EU membership, Silajdzic said they would like to realize them with neighboring countries. “We will develop our relations with good intentions. Lasting peace and stability in Bosnia will accelerate new investments. It will promote our reforms for the EU,” Silajdzic said.

Meanwhile, Davutoğlu will meet with the foreign ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia on Wednesday in İstanbul. Peace talks between Bosnia and Serbia since October 2009 under Davutoğlu’s mediation have already started to bear fruit. While Bosnia has sent an ambassador to Belgrade, Serbia’s parliament has apologized to Bosnia for the Srebrenica massacre. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is also expected to attend the 15th anniversary of 1995 Srebrenica massacre, where more than 8,200 Bosnians were killed by Serbian paramilitary groups.



26 April 2010, Monday


TODAY’S ZAMAN İSTANBUL