(ANSA) - TRIESTE - Serbian president Tomislav Nikolic on Wednesday met former Bosnian Serb leader Momcilo Krajisnik, who was convicted for 20 years by an Un tribunal for his role in Bosnia's 1992-1995 war. Nikolic urged greater protection for the rights of Serbs in the Balkan region. Krajisnik was an ally of Radovan Karadzic and spent over 13 years in prison. He was released in 2013. Krajisnik met Nikolic in his role as head of the Association of Creators of Republika Srpska.

Bosnian Serb leaders are calling for secession of their mini-state called Republika Srpska. Krajisnik said after the meeting that Bosnia "has become an impossible country. The situation is alarming". Nikolic said that the talks emphasized "the status and protection of human rights of Serbian people in the countries in the region, as well as the protection of Cyrillic and the Serbian language". Rights campaigners accused Nikolic of promoting nationalism and undermining Bosnia's sovereignty. "By meetings of top state officials with convicted war criminals, Serbia's institutions obstruct the process of confronting the causes and consequences of the 1990s wars and insult victims' dignity", the Humanitarian Law Centre affirmed in a statement. Rights groups in Bosnia also expressed concerns.

President Nikolic's attendance at the Day of Republika Srpska on Monday was hardly criticized. (ANSA).