A bipartisan group of US senators and representatives called on President Donald Trump’s administration to impose sanctions on Republika Srpska officials after questioning the author of a report denying the genocide in Srebrenica.
As reported by the American portal Semafor, legislators expressed concern over the fact that current and former employees and associates of the Srebrenica Memorial Center were invited for questioning.
“We are deeply concerned by reports that current and former employees and associates of the Srebrenica Memorial Center have been subpoenaed for questioning,” said a joint statement by Senators Jeanne Shaheen, Roger Wicker, Chuck Grassley and Dick Durbin, and Representatives Bill Keating and Mike Turner.
They called on the Trump administration to apply the provisions of this year’s Defense Law, which foresees sanctions against persons whom the president determines threaten the security, stability or territorial integrity of the Western Balkan countries.
The White House and State Department did not respond to requests for comment.
Again pressure because of Republika Srpska
This is not the first time that members of Congress have requested the application of this legal provision. Earlier this year, some of the same legislators asked Finance Minister Scott Bessent and State Secretary Marco Rubio to impose sanctions on the former president of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik for, as they stated, his calls for the secession of Republika Srpska.
Last year, American officials lifted sanctions on Dodik, who has since been removed from office for violating the Dayton Peace Agreement, and was in Washington in February.
According to Semafor, Republika Srpska spent hundreds of thousands of dollars lobbying the second administration of Donald Trump.
Former US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Jim O’Brien assessed that the Republika Srpska’s political and financial relations with the administration could affect its caution in responding to issues related to the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the genocide in Srebrenica.
Uncertainty about the High Representative
The portal also states that there is still a deadlock among American officials regarding the choice of a successor to the high representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, after the United States of America requested his resignation earlier this year.
According to the same source, some analysts believe that this uncertainty could affect Washington’s other interests in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including a billion-dollar oil pipeline project in which an American company connected to President Trump participates.
