"Unless the commitments towards the tribunal are fulfilled, or rather unless persons indicted for war crimes committed in Bosnia-Herzegovina are arrested, Republika Srpska faces a difficult time at the end of the year when a report is due to be submitted to the UN Security Council," Cavic told Bosnian Serb television by telephone late Tuesday evening.
He was speaking after talks with tribunal chief prosecutor Carla del Ponte and tribunal president Theodor Meron in The Hague, where he is currently on a two-day visit.
Cavic said that the attitude of the international community towards Republika Srpska and Bosnia-Herzegovina as a whole would depend on the report by the Hague tribunal. "The situation is very serious and one should bear in mind that there is no room for manoeuvre," he said.
Cavic said he had told his hosts that the Bosnian Serb police were active more than ever before in their efforts to track down fugitive war criminals, notably Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic.
On Wednesday, Cavic is scheduled to meet more than 20 war crimes indictees from Republika Srpska who are in the tribunal's custody in The Hague.