As the legal successor of the former Yugoslavia, Serbia took over the obligation of respecting Bosnia's sovereignty stemming from the Dayton Peace Agreement after it signed it in 1995, the international administrator in Bosnia's spokesperson Mario Brkic told Fena news agency on Thursday.

“Among other things, Serbia agreed to respect Bosnia's sovereign equality and avoid any activity aimed against Bosnia's independence, as well as to accept, promote and respect the obligations stemming from Annex 4 of the Bosnian Constitution,” Brkic noted.

The statement came after Serbian Defence Minister Aleksandar Vulin said, presenting Serbia's Defence and National Security Strategy contains the preservation of the Serb-dominated Republika Srpska entity – one of two semi-autonomous entities in the country. It also describes the RS as one of Serbia's main national and foreign policy interests.

This part of the Strategy was slammed by many pro-Bosnian politicians from the country, describing it as an attack on the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Brkic added that the Dayton Peace Agreement which ended the war in Bosnia and contains the Bosnian Constitution, was signed by the then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Croatia, and that the EU, France, Germany, Russia, the UK and the US were witnesses to the signing.

The international administrator, also known as the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina is a function set up by the international community aimed at overseeing the civilian implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement.