Bosnian Serb Leader Walks Out Of Reform Talks

Bosnian Muslim leader Sulejman Tihic said he could not accept Dodik's conditions.

 Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik walked out of talks on constitutional reform on Saturday after prosecutors said they might lay corruption charges against him.

Leaders of the main Bosnian Serb, Bosnian Croat and Bosnian Muslim parties launched talks last year to try to resolve outstanding issues blocking the Balkan country's progress towards the European Union.

The trio reached a principle agreement last month on a new structure of Bosnia, which is made up of the Muslim-Croat federation and the Serb Republic, raising hopes that the deadlock in the stalled reform process could be broken.

But Dodik left a meeting on Saturday saying the talks would continue only if his conditions reaffirming the status of the Serb Republic were accepted, including its right to secede from Bosnia.

Dodik has reacted angrily to accusations over illegal deals that cost the budget 145 million marka ($94.2 million). Prosecutors said on Friday they would decide whether to open a case against Dodik after analysing a police corruption report.

He has cited procedural errors and said the case was politically motivated.

Since he came to power in 2006, Dodik has worked to equip the Serb Republic with all features of an independent state, questioning Bosnia's viability, obstructing state institutions and threatening secession.

Bosnian Muslim leader Sulejman Tihic said he could not accept Dodik's conditions.

"Nobody can secede from Bosnia, nor divide Bosnia," Tihic said. "Bosnia-Herzegovina is unquestionable and I cannot accept Dodik's requests."

Tihic and Bosnian Croat leader Dragan Covic attributed Dodik's actions to the news that he and his aides were being investigated by state intelligence agency SIPA over possible corruption.

"We agreed it is not good to talk in such an atmosphere," Covic told reporters.

Dodik's ruling SNSD party said the corruption allegations revealed ethnic divisions in the state institutions, such as SIPA and the prosecutor's office.

"We already have a political crisis. This new development will only deepen it," said political commentator Igor Gajic.