EU troops prepare for Bosnia swap

"It is scarcely possible to overestimate the significance of this operation", says Lord Ashdown seated in his office overlooking Sarajevo. "For Bosnia, it marks a milestone on the route from war towards peace stabilisation and eventually joining the European Union". Enthusiastic words from the chief international envoy to Bosnia ahead of the deployment of the EU military mission to Bosnia (EUFOR), scheduled to take over from the Nato peacekeeping Stabilisation Force (SFOR) on 2 December 2004.

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