The Washington Agreement ( Croatian: ''washingtonski sporazum;'' Bosnian: ''vašingtonski sporazum'') was a ceasefire agreement between the

Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Republika Bosna i Hercegovina, Република Босна и Херцеговина, separator=" / ") was a state in Southeastern Europe, existing from 1992 to 1995. It is the direct lega ...

and the

Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia The Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia () was an unrecognized geopolitical entity and quasi-state in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was proclaimed on 18 November 1991 under the name Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bos ...

, signed on 18 March 1994 in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

It was signed by Bosnian Prime Minister

Haris Silajdžić Haris Silajdžić (; born 1 October 1945) is a Bosnian politician and academic who served as the 5th Bosniak member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2006 to 2010. He was the Prime Minister of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegov ...

, Croatian Foreign Minister

Mate Granić Mate Granić (born 19 September 1947) is a Croatian diplomat, politician and physician who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Government of Croatia from 1993 to 2000. Biography Granić was born in Baška Voda in Dalmatia (then PR C ...

and President of Herzeg-Bosnia

Krešimir Zubak Krešimir Zubak (; born 25 January 1947) is a Bosnian Croat politician who served as the 1st Croat member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1996 to 1998. At the beginning of the Bosnian War in 1992, he joined the Croatian Democ ...

. Under the agreement, the combined territory held by the

Croat The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

and Bosnian (in that time

Bosniak The Bosniaks (, Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia (region), Bosnia, today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and who sha ...

) government forces was divided into ten autonomous cantons, establishing the

Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Serbo-Croatian: ''Federacija Bosne i Hercegovine'' / ''Федерација Босне и Херцеговине'') is one of the two Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities composing Bo ...

and ending the Croat-Bosniak War. The cantonal system was selected to prevent dominance by one ethnic group over another. The subsequently signed Washington Framework Agreement had the creation of a loose federation (or

confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

) between Croatia and Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina as one of its goals.

Background

War broke out between Herzeg-Bosnia, supported by Croatia, and the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the

Croatian Defence Forces The Croatian Defence Forces ( or HOS) were the paramilitary arm of the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP) from 1991 to 1992, during the first stages of the Yugoslav wars. During the Croatian War of Independence, the HOS organised several early compa ...

. It lasted from 18 October 1992 to 23 February 1994, and is considered often as a "war within a war" as it was a part of the much larger Bosnian War. Fighting soon spread to

Central Bosnia Central Bosnia (, ) is a central subregion of Bosnia, which consists of a core mountainous area with several basins, valleys and mountains. It is bordered by Bosnian Krajina to the northwest, Tropolje (Livno area) to the west, Herzegovina to th ...

and soon

Herzegovina Herzegovina ( or ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Hercegovina, separator=" / ", Херцеговина, ) is the southern and smaller of two main geographical Regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Bosnia (reg ...

, where most of the fighting would take place in those regions. Between 1992 and 1994, many massacres and killings would take place, such as the

Lašva Valley ethnic cleansing The Lašva Valley ethnic cleansing, also known as the Lašva Valley case, refers to numerous war crimes committed during the Bosnian war by the Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia's political and military leadership on Bosniak or Bosnian Muslim c ...

Trusina massacre The Trusina massacre occurred on 16 April 1993 in the village of Trusina, located in the municipality of Konjic in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where 22 people, six Croat prisoners of war and 16 Croat civilians, were killed by the Army of the Republic ...

Ahmići massacre The Ahmići massacre was the mass murder of approximately 120 Bosnian Muslim civilians by members of the Croatian Defence Council in April 1993, during the Croat–Muslim War. The massacre was the culmination of the Lašva Valley ethnic clea ...

Sovići and Doljani killings The Sovići and Doljani killings refers to war crimes committed against Bosnian Muslims by Croatian Defence Forces (HVO) on 17 April 1993, and afterwards in the villages of Doljani and Sovići. According to the ICTY, Croat/HVO forces attacked t ...

, Vitez massacre,

Mokronoge massacre The Mokronoge massacre was the mass killing of nine Bosniak civilians, in the village of Mokronoge, Tomislavgrad in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was committed on 10 August 1993 by Ivan Baković, a soldier of the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) du ...

, Grabovica massacre, Uzdol massacre, Stupni Do massacre, Križančevo selo killings, Zenica massacre, Gornji Vakuf shelling, Busovača massacre, and the Stari Vitez terrorist attack. Battles, operations, and sieges were also common during that time period, as the

battle of Žepče The Battle of Žepče (Croatian: ''Bitka kod Žepča'') took place between the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) and the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) in Žepče, Bosnia and Herzegovina from 24th to 30th June 1993. Pre ...

Bugojno Bugojno ( sr-cyrl, Бугојно) is a town and municipality in the Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the river Vrbas, to the northwest of Sarajevo. Accord ...

Siege of Mostar The siege of Mostar was fought during the Bosnian War first in 1992 and then again later in 1993 to 1994. Initially lasting between April 1992 and June 1992, it involved the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) and the Army of the Republic of Bosnia a ...

Operation Neretva '93 Operation Neretva '93 was an Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) operation against the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) in September 1993 on a 200 km long front from Gornji Vakuf to south of Mostar, one of its largest of ...

, and

Operation Tvigi 94 Operation Tvigi '94 (Croatian language, Croatian:''Operacija Tvigi '94'') was a military operation during the Croat-Bosniak War which was conducted by the Croatian Defence Council (HVO), it began on 24 January and lasted till February 21 1994. a ...

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References

External links

United States Institute of Peace: Washington AgreementUppsala Conflict Data Program: Washington Agreement
{{Bosnian War 1994 in international relations 1994 in Bosnia and Herzegovina 1994 in Croatia 1994 in Austria March 1994 in the United States 1994 in Washington, D.C. 1990s in Vienna Bosnian peace process Bosnian War Croatian War of Independence Treaties of Bosnia and Herzegovina Treaties of Croatia History of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Ceasefires Peace treaties Presidency of Bill Clinton Alija Izetbegović Bosnia and Herzegovina–Croatia relations Austria–Bosnia and Herzegovina relations Austria–Croatia relations Austria–United States relations Bosnia and Herzegovina–United States relations Croatia–United States relations Political history of Bosnia and Herzegovina Political history of Croatia

Background

See also

References

Further reading

External links