21st anniversary of the Washington Agreement: It stopped the conflicts between the Army of RBiH and HVO

Next Wednesday, March 18, marks the 21st anniversary of the Washington Agreement, which stopped the conflicts between the Army of RBiH and the Croatian Defence Council (HVO), writes the BiH news agency Patria.

It was signed by Bosnian Prime Minister Haris Silajdžić and Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granić, and Krešimir Zubak, president of the then Herceg-Bosna.

In Washington, in addition to the ceasefire between the HVO and the Army of RBiH being agreed upon, Herceg-Bosna was also abolished, and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina was agreed upon, which was divided into ten cantons. Cantons were introduced to prevent the dominance of one nation over another, i.e., the dominance of Bosniaks over Croats and vice versa.

The Washington Agreement was supposed to be only the first phase of the agreement, while the second phase would include the Republic of Srpska in the negotiations. According to this plan, RS was supposed to disappear and a cantonal system was to be established at the level of the entire BiH, but this plan was not realized, writes Patria.