Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro sign new border treaty

Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and Montenegro signed a new border treaty here on Wednesday that seeks to resolve a territorial dispute, Austria Press Agency reported.

President of Montenegro Filip Vujanovic and BiH Chairman of the House of Peoples Dragan Covic signed for their respective nations, a day ahead of the Western Balkans conference in the Austrian capital.

The previous treaty, agreed upon in May 2014, had to be renewed after BiH's Social Democratic Party (SDP) questioned Montenegrin sovereignty of Sutorina coastal territory, that had belonged to BiH prior to 1947, as it had not been ratified in their parliament.

After some harsh debate within BiH and political exchanges between the two countries, relations normalized again in May this year when the Bosnian parliament rejected the supposed claim to the territory.

Both parties declared themselves satisfied with Wednesday's outcome, with Covic saying it showed "we are capable of resolving open issues at the negotiating table amicably."

In addition, he said he hoped similar treaties could be signed with Croatia and Serbia.

Vujanovic said he was "very pleased" with the outcome, the first of its kind in the former Yugoslavian states.

Austrian President Heinz Fischer was also pleased with the outcome, saying he hoped it could be ratified in the parliaments of both countries soon. Endit