Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik has sent a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, in which he states that the coming RS referendum is not about secession from Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) or RS status and does not violate the Dayton peace agreement that ended the war in BiH.

Dodik says that he decided to send the letter because of the UN Security Council coming debate about BiH and the statements made by High Representative for BiH Valentin Inzko, which directly accuse RS and its leaders of breaching the Dayton agreement.

"The referendum is neither about secession, RS status nor an introduction to any one of them. The RS referendum was called in full accordance with the law and represents a legitimate way to determine the will of the people on an issue which is in RS jurisdiction according to the RS Constitution and Annex 4 of the Dayton agreement, and that is the judiciary," says the copy of Dodik's letter delivered to Tanjug.

Dodik challenges Inzko's report and claims that the BiH Court and Prosecutor's Office are not included in the BiH Constitution, so they cannot be considered a category recognized by the Dayton agreement.

Dodik concludes that RS, its government and he remain committed in full to the Dayton agreement and all of its annexes.

Inzko's report on BiH, which he is due to present to the Security Council next week, pays special attention to RS, saying that its government's decision to hold the referendum is pointed against the Dayton agreement and undermines the jurisdiction of BiH.