NIKIFOROV: DAYTON HALTED WAR, BUT KEY CHALLENGES PERSIST

PALE, NOVEMBER 15 /SRNA/ – Konstantin Nikiforov, Director of the Institute of Slavic Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences, stated that the significance of the Dayton Peace Accords lies in the fact that it ended the war in BiH, but that everything else remains debatable.

“Immediately after its signing, some thought that it worked against the Serbs in BiH, but over time it has become clear that the Dayton Agreement serves to preserve Republika Srpska within BiH, and that any changes to it would directly go against Srpska,” Nikiforov said. Nikiforov is one of the participants in the International Scientific Conference “30 Years of the Dayton Peace Accords: Lessons of the Past and Challenges of the Present,” which is being held today in Pale. He emphasized that, under the current circumstances, the Dayton Agreement ensures the conditions for coexistence of multiple peoples after the bloody conflict. “Otherwise, tensions could escalate, leading to absolutely undesirable consequences,” Nikiforov said, noting that, for these reasons, no significant changes to the Dayton Agreement are expected. Ruslan Gagkujev, Chairman of the Board of the Russian Historical Society, stated that it is necessary to carefully analyze all that has occurred in the 30 years since the conclusion of the Dayton Peace Accords, and particularly to examine the issue in the context of the formation of a multipolar world. “We need to look at what has happened, the experiences we have had, the path we have taken, and it is especially important to draw certain lessons in the context of the formation of a multipolar world,” Gagkujev added. He expressed satisfaction that the Russian Historical Society participated in organizing today’s conference, emphasizing that the topic of the 30th anniversary of the Dayton Peace Accords has been given the highest priority within the society. The International Conference “30 Years of the Dayton Peace Accords: Lessons of the Past and Challenges of the Present” was organized by the Institute of Historical Sciences at the University of Istočno Sarajevo in cooperation with the Russian Historical Society, the Institute of Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Istočno Sarajevo.