(SARAJEVO) - EU ambassadors rejected Saturday a claim by Bosnian Serbs that they had the right to follow Kosovo's example and declare independence.

"The European Union heads of missions strongly reject adoption of this resolution" by the Republika Srpska parliament, read a joint statement from the ambassadors' meeting in Sarajevo.

The ambassadors, led by Slovenia which holds the EU presidency, underlined that the country's two post-war entities "have no right to secede from Bosnia-Hercegovina" under the 1995 peace agreement.

The Bosnian Serb parliament said Thursday their entity should follow suit if a significant part of the United Nations and most EU countries recognise Kosovo's independence.

"In that case, the Republika Srpska assembly believes it has the right to launch a referendum to reconsider its statehood status," said the parliament's resolution, which was swiftly condemned by the United States.

Such a move would put into question the Dayton peace agreement which ended Bosnia's 1992-1995 war and split the country into two semi-independent entities.

The two entities -- the Muslim-Croat Federation and Republika Srpska -- share weak central institutions while each has its own government, parliament and police.

Many Bosnian Serbs feel their entity should follow Kosovo's lead and be allowed to secede from Bosnia and eventually attach itself to Serbia, which they see as their "motherland."

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