Bosnia crisis deepens as prime minister resigns

Bosnia:Amid growing tension across much of former Yugoslavia, Bosnia lurched deeper into political crisis yesterday when its prime minister resigned in protest at alleged western meddling in his country's affairs.

Nikola Spiric, an ethnic Serb, quit after the international body that oversees post-war Bosnia backed high representative Miroslav Lajcak's decision to simplify voting procedures in the federal government, a move that Serbs fear would leave them vulnerable to domination by the country's Muslim majority.

Only Russia criticised Mr Lajcak and backed the Bosnian Serbs, placing it behind Belgrade and in conflict with Washington and Brussels over both Bosnia and Kosovo.

Mr Spiric resigned after the main Bosnian Serb party threatened to leave the federal government, and western states lambasted Serbia's premier, Vojislav Kostunica, for vowing to prevent Kosovo's independence and protect the interests of Serbs in Bosnia. "Twelve years after Dayton, Bosnia-Herzegovina is unfortunately not a sovereign state," Mr Spiric said, referring to the deal that ended his country's 1992-5 war.

"Foreigners have exclusive rule over this country. The international community has cooked this soup and it is now time for them to take the spoon."

Mr Kostunica blamed Mr Lajcak for the crisis and warned that "the attempt to destroy the Dayton accords could have unforeseen consequences".

The Dayton accords split Bosnia into Republika Srpska and a Muslim-Croat Federation, linked by a federal government. The Muslims and Croats, backed by the EU and US, want to weaken the regions and strengthen the federation, a move opposed by Serbs.

Bosnian Serb politicians have often stymied reform simply by failing to turn up to vote on legislation, and they are furious at Mr Lajcak's attempt to prevent that by making it easier to reach a quorum in the federal parliament.

Several western embassies in Belgrade criticised Mr Kostunica last week for linking developments in Bosnia and Kosovo by talking of "an open threat to the essential interests of the Serb people" in former Yugoslavia.

Russia, meanwhile, berated Mr Lajcak for proposing controversial reforms in an "atmosphere of growing tensions in the Balkans".