Mixed Reception for Bosnia Peace Plan

GENEVA — International mediators presented a peace plan Thursday that generally recognized Serbian-Croatian demands for the ethnic division of Bosnia while offering a nod to the Muslim-led government’s desire for a single state, sources said.

Bosnian Serbs and Croats indicated that they were happy with proposals, but a member of Bosnia’s collective presidency said the government found them unacceptable in the current format.

Sources close to the talks said the plan calls for a “Union of Independent States of Bosnia-Herzegovina,” made up of three separate units with minority rights guarantees. A weak central government would handle international affairs and foreign trade.

Thursday’s talks were interrupted temporarily so leaders of the warring factions could order their military commanders in Bosnia to stop fighting. The recess was seen as a move to give negotiations a chance to succeed. It was too early to tell if this truce, unlike previous ones, would halt the fighting.