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Bosnian Vice President in First Delegation to Serbia Since War Began
‘You know, we didn't choose our neighbours. We have to
—Bosnian Vice-President Ejup Ganic
U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke told reporters in Sarajevo after his second meeting with the Bosnian government in two days that Ganic would be heading a mission to promote trade.
It was not immediately clear whether Ganic would meet Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, seen by Bosnian Muslims as the main sponsor of their Bosnian Serb foes for most of the civil war.
Ganic, who will be accompanied by members of the Muslim-Croat Federation government and Bosnian businessmen, welcomed the invitation from Belgrade as recognising a fact of life. "You know, we didn't choose our neighbours. We have to work with our neighbours, we have to build the bridges," he told reporters. "Of course we know history...but we have to look ahead to make a better living for our children, and to create stability in the region."
Holbrooke said the U.S. ambassador to Bosnia, John Menzies, would accompany the Bosnian delegation "to make sure it goes well." The delegation was due to meet Serbia's Chamber of Commerce and leading businessmen in Belgrade next week. "This is a major step forward in the economic reconstruction of a region of the world which, as you all know, used to be a single economic unit," he said.
Holbrooke is on a shuttle between former Yugoslav states in a bid to drive the Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic from power and political influence. All economic ties between rump Yugoslavia, comprising of Serbia and Montenegro, and the Muslim-Croat part of Bosnia- Herzegovina were severed when Bosnia began its drive for independence in 1992.
The Bosnian Serb-controlled half of the war-torn country maintained a close relationship with Serbia proper throughout the 43-month war. |
SARAJEVO, July 18 (Reuters) - Bosnian Vice-President Ejup Ganic will next week lead the mainly-Muslim government's first delegation to Serbia since the Bosnian conflict broke out more than four years ago, it was announced on Thursday.
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