Bosnian Serb PM criticises talks on country's future

(BELGRADE) - The leader of Bosnia's Serb community said Wednesday that talks on the divided country's future were aimed at creating a state that suited the United States and Europe.

Since the 1992-1995 war Bosnia has consisted of two semi-independent entities -- the Serbs' Republika Srpska and the Muslim-Croat Federation -- linked by weak central institutions whose decisions must be backed by all three communities.

An EU and United States initiative to reform Bosnia's constitution to make the country function better saw talks begin near Sarajevo earlier this month, but with limited progress.

Republika Srpska's Prime Minister Milorad Dodik told Serbian television station B92 on Wednesday that the other Bosnian leaders at the talks wanted "a solution imposed by foreigners, American and European, to create a Bosnia that suits them".

He said Bosnia was "a state created by an accord, where there are no days of communal celebration or sadness".

The post-war Bosnia had been founded on the same failed principles as the former Yugoslavia, he said.

Reform of the Bosnian constitution has been demanded by the international community for several years. The Bosnian Serbs, however, have refused any modifications which might reduce their hold on power.

Mediators have said the talks on Bosnia's future would continue.