Radio Free Europe reports that the U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, stated that the United States is considering various options regarding the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina but emphasized that “it is clear that the country’s disintegration and a new conflict must not happen.”
“We do not want any division there… The last thing we need is another crisis, and we have already expressed our views on this,” said Rubio in a statement to Voice of America, when asked to comment on his earlier remarks that “the actions of the President of the Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, undermine Bosnia and Herzegovina’s institutions and jeopardize its security and stability.”
Authorities in Republika Srpska, led by Dodik, have threatened secession and attempted to block the functioning of state justice and police institutions within their territory.
Regarding potential future actions, Rubio said, “We are considering various options, but what is absolutely clear—despite possible differences among us—is that this situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina must not lead to the disintegration of the country or a new conflict.”
Rubio expressed hope that the U.S. could take measures to “prevent the start of another conflict in Europe.”
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated on Monday in Sarajevo that the alliance would not allow the peace earned with effort to be jeopardized in Bosnia and Herzegovina and create a security vacuum in the country. “Certainly, I am concerned about the security situation, but this is not 1992, and we will not allow a security vacuum. I know that EUFOR is fully ready to maintain a stable security environment. We will not allow the peace that was hard-earned to be jeopardized,” Rutte said.
Earlier, the Republika Srpska Assembly passed a law banning the activities of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA), the Court, and the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council, which is responsible for appointing all judges and prosecutors in the country.
The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina issued a temporary measure and suspended the implementation of the law passed by the National Assembly of Republika Srpska on February 27, one day after President Dodik was sentenced by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina to one year in prison and a six-year ban on holding office. This is a first-instance verdict, and Dodik has the option to appeal.
NATO has repeatedly stated that the alliance supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina and will not allow a security vacuum or the jeopardization of hard-won peace.
The European Union Force (EUFOR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina announced on March 7 that it would temporarily increase its troop numbers as a preventive measure due to rising tensions in the country.
