Addressing the parliament at his own initiative, Terzic explained that his decision to relieve Ivanic of duty was a matter of principle and that Ivanic had been obstructing the work of his government for six months.
Speaking at a regular parliamentary session, Terzic also accused Ivanic of undermining an agreement on the allocation of positions in the country's most important security agencies under which a candidate of the Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia-Herzegovina (HDZ BiH), Dragan Lukac, should have been appointed director of the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA).
"Agreement on that was reached two years ago, but Ivanic obstructed it," Terzic said adding that this was the reason why the international community's High Representative, Paddy Ashdown, had to intervene and appoint a Serb representative, Sredoje Novic, instead of Lukac.
Pointing an accusing finger at Ivanic for failure to adopt several reform laws, Terzic recalled that Ivanic had been acting irresponsibly since December 2004, when he offered a resignation to his post after the international community took measures against his Party of Democratic Progress (PDP).
Ashdown held a news conference in Sarajevo today at which he informed reporters that he did not support Terzic's decision to relieve Ivanic of duty.
The British diplomat said that this move would not help the implementation of the ongoing reforms in the country.
Remarking that Terzic's decision was probably the result of "summer follies", Ashdown called on members of the Council of Ministers to return to their job and continue performing duties for which they were elected two and a half years ago.
The Council of Ministers should return to its job and prove to the European Union that it is a serious partner, the High Representative said, adding that Sarajevo still had enough time to catch up with Serbia-Montenegro and ensure the start of negotiations with the EU on a Stabilisation and Association Agreement by November this year.
In any case, Ivanic will continue to be Foreign Minister of Bosnia-Herzegovina until the possible appointment of another person to that post, Ashdown said.
Ashdown's statement is contrary to the decision which Terzic made on Tuesday when he fired Ivanic.
The Foreign Ministry's secretary-general, Adnan Hadzikapetanovic, was yesterday appointed head of the foreign ministry until the election of a new minister.
Ivanic, who on Tuesday labelled Terzic's decision as unlawful, has continued to act as Bosnia's Foreign Minister and on Wednesday he attended a conference on anti-Semitism and other forms of intolerance in Cordoba.
Addressing the OSCE conference on behalf of the Bosnian government, Ivanic said that the 1995 massacre in Srebrenica was the worst possible example of intolerance and discrimination based on religious and ethnic grounds.