An agreement providing for closer relations between Bosnian Serbs and Yugoslavia, to be signed tomorrow, will only contain a general outline of the ties, Bosnian Serb Vice Premier Petar Kunic said.
After the agreement was signed and ratified, talks on detailed cooperation would follow, Mr Kunic said in an interview with the Bosnian Serb news agency SRNA.
Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica is expected to arrive in Banja Luka tomorrow where he is to sign the accords with Republika Srpska President Mirko Sarovic.
Bosnian Foreign Minister Zlatko Lagumdzija said he was invited to the accord signing only on Friday and since it coincided with the Muslim festival of sacrifice, he could not come unless it was postponed, a statement from his ministry said.
The agreement calls for closer relations between the Bosnian Serb entity of Republika Srpska and Yugoslavia's dominant repubic, Serbia, which backed the Serbs in Bosnia during the 1992-1995 war.
"The agreement is short, but opens possibilities for cooperation," Mr Kunic said, adding that the agreement would be similar to the one which the Muslim-Croat Federation, the other Bosnian entity, has already signed with Croatia.
Under the Dayton peace agreement which ended Bosnia's 1992-1995 war, both the Republika Srpska and the Muslim-Croat Federation have the right to form ties with neighbouring countries. Mr Kunic said that the agreement on special ties would provide cooperation within several domains, including defence.
He added that negotiating teams had pushed for the area of defence cooperation, which is to include military training and production.
AFP