The war in Croatia lasted until January 1992, when an unconditional ceasefire established a restless peace between the Croatian government and ethnic Serbs. The war between Croats and Bosniaks ended with the signing of the Washington Agreement in March 1994 and formed an uncomfortable alliance known as the Bosnian-Croatian Federation. Meanwhile, fighting continued between Bosnian Croat forces and Serbs, despite international efforts to achieve a permanent ceasefire, including a no-fly zone, a fire-free zone around Sarajevo and humanitarian operations. In February 1994, during NATO`s first use of force, NATO fighters shot down four Serbian planes that violated the no-fly zone. Later, in May 1995, NATO carried out airstrikes on the Serbian stronghold of Pale. „It was an attempt by the United States to control the embassy, to pressure some of these political leaders in their home countries to finally make the kind of compromise necessary in a very difficult peace deal of this kind.” The Bosnian Serbs initially rejected Dayton`s constitutional structures – but even they have now come to support them. Across all ethnic groups, a minority — only 28 percent — say they would have voted definitively or likely against Dayton in 2013. Bosnian Serbs are seven times more likely to say they would vote for the deal than to oppose it. Even current President Aleksandar Vučić, who was a far-right nationalist in the nineties, has changed his mind and no longer calls the deal a „betrayal.” The agreement was aimed at ending the de facto division of the country. To this end, it created a unified federal state in Bosnia and Herzegovina – not only to end the violence, but also to protect human rights and cooperation. But ethnic divisions and fragmentation have prevented these goals.

Two decades later, Bosnian Serb leaders are seen as undermining Bosnia`s legitimacy at every turn by constantly pushing for partition. „The view on the agreement that ended the war is different not only in Serbia or Croatia, but also in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Kozul added. „Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks, they see all the Dayton Accords in Bosnia differently. The Serbian side wants to bring it back to its roots, while others think it needs to evolve. The agreement represented a compromise between the aspirations of the different warring parties. Against the will of The Serb and Croat ultranationalists, it restored Bosnia as a unitary state and granted the right of return to the victims of ethnic cleansing. Against the will of Bosnian ultranationalists, it adopted ethnically federal structures that recognized the Republika Srpska („Serb Republic”) as a political entity with autonomous rights in Bosnia. It has also established a complex system of power-sharing and minority rights for the country`s three main ethnic groups („constituent peoples”), thus preventing the Bosnian majority from surpassing minorities in matters of vital political interest. Prior to the agreement, Bosnian Serbs controlled about 46 per cent of Bosnia and Herzegovina (23,687 km2), Bosniaks 28 per cent (14,505 km2) and Bosnian Croats 25 per cent (12,937 km2).

Goran Tepšić, an assistant professor at belgrade`s Faculty of Political Science, told Euronews that the dissolution of the agreement could lead to massive changes in the region`s security. Speeches from a podium in front of 23 flags, held in French alphabetical order, were strictly limited to six minutes each. Alija Izetbegovic, the Bosnian president, said: „My government signs this agreement without any enthusiasm, like someone who takes a bitter but useful potion.” „And so everyone packed their bags, put their suitcases in front of their hotel rooms. He mentioned a plane, the engines turned just to simulate the fear that we, the negotiators, could leave and leave them without an agreement. And at that time, the decision was made that we would go into what we called extra rounds. We had to translate this so that the Europeans would say in extension what a world football term is, not an American baseball term. And the last two days have really been the days that broke that agreement and made the agreement possible – which silenced the guns, ended the killings and brought Bosnia and Herzegovina a generation of peace. They rushed into another dispute with Dirty Dick – US chief negotiator Richard Holbrooke – to hand over the flags and chairs and restore a piece of euro honour. The 21-day negotiations in Dayton may have resulted in a Bosnian peace agreement, but they opened up a huge rift between the UNITED STATES and the Europeans in the contact group.

„Although the Bosnian state is not fully functional, the dissolution of the agreement could lead to the disintegration of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” he added. „`Dayton Bosnia` has shown great resilience and survivability, so its future should not be in question.” The strongest threat to peace initialled this week comes from the Bosnian Serbs, who not only publicly condemned the agreement, but privately refused to initial the map or military annexes of the long and complex agreement. The Bosnian Serbs in the delegation, who were shown Mr Milosevic`s final map just minutes before the peace agreement was announced, were stunned to see that they had lost the suburbs of Sarajevo and the towering heights they had defended throughout the siege. On the eve of November 21, 1995, my family and I celebrated the patron saint of the family when peace was proclaimed in Bosnia. Family and friends applauded as maps of the territories on both sides were broadcast on national television. Everyone was happy with the deal. But there was also a bit of skepticism because this was not the first attempt to find peace. The rest of the country felt the same way.

„The Bosnian Serbs had one floor and the Croats had another and the Bosnian Muslims a third and the Americans, Europeans and Russians a fourth,” he said. „And Holbrooke literally shuttled between the rooms and between the floors, walking 20 meters, 40 meters to get to a meeting where he talked to each of these presidents and tried to make a deal.” The High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina has warned of the risks to stability caused by Bosnian Serb separatists in a report due to be submitted to the UN Security Council this week. The report by Christian Schmidt, the main international envoy to Bosnia, says the country could face the biggest „existential threat of the post-war period” if the international community does not take steps to stop Serb separatists. „The prospects for new divisions and conflicts are very real,” Schmidt, a senior German diplomat, said in his report to the council, according to excerpts quoted in news reports. Schmidt was supposed to give the warning during a Briefing to the Security Council on Nov. 2, but the council said his appearance was canceled due to Russian opposition, according to the AP. Schmidt`s warnings refer to Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik`s threats to withdraw Serb soldiers from the Bosnian army and create a separate Serb force. .