Any foreign intervention in Bosnia and Herzegovina triggers a new step towards the independence of Republika Srpska, said Milorad Dodik, the President of Bosnia's Serb-majority entity, reiterating that he will not obey decisions by Christian Schmidt, international peace envoy in the country.

Any Schmidt's decision will also mean a step towards the independence of Republika Srpska, Dodik stressed.

The entity president spoke on the anniversary of initialing of the Dayton Peace Agreement, the peace deal that ended the Bosnian 1992-95 war and introduced the country's constitutional setup, which is marked on November 21.

Dodik said he and Zeljka Cvijanovic, the Serb member of Bosnia's tripartite Presidency, will determine the policies that will strengthen Republika Srpska.

Cvijanovic addressed the media on the same occasion, stressing that it is a priority to return to the original Dayton Agreement, the deal that was accepted by all peoples and that brought a constitutional-political system, which enabled the country to function in peace.

Interventions by foreign factors in Bosnia and Herzegovina, she stressed, have created the institutional state that deviates from what was foreseen by the Constitution.

“Such interventionism has brought Bosnia and Herzegovina into many crises,” according to Cvijanovic, while going back to original competencies prescribed by the document would lead to a “phase of calmness” and “better mutual cooperation.”

“Everything we were told would be cost efficient, better, more effective and would establish internal order and trust – the opposite has happened,” said the Presidency member, criticising the imposing of decision which, according to her, created more costs to the institutions and made them bring less results.

Cvijanovic and Dodik took office last week following the victory in the October 2 general elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina.