”While Moscow is waging war in Ukraine, it is fueling a conflict between the authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and Serbian separatists there, ” states the Austrian newspaper Kurier in the analysis.
Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik did not hide his closeness to Russian President Vladimir Putin. It goes without saying that Moscow will support him in his separatist plans. Western observers warn that the hard-won peace in the Balkan country is in jeopardy.
The last alert came from Democratic United States (U.S.) Senator Chris Murphy.
”If Putin (in Ukraine) is cornered, he will look for other places to win. And one of them could be BiH,” he told the CNN, referring to ”a very worrying time for Bosnia.”
About 100.000 people died in the 1992-1995 war in BiH. Since then, the country has been divided into the Federation of BiH (FBiH) and the Republika Srpska (RS) entity, which most consider close to Russia’s “big brother”.
In statements similar to Putin’s rhetoric about the attack on Ukraine, the Russian ambassador in Sarajevo warned of the possibility of Moscow’s reaction if BiH joins NATO.
The Kremlin does not recognize the international community’s high representative in BiH, who oversees the implementation of the peace agreement. Russia is openly against, as they say, “increased attempts to rework the principles” of the agreement in a way that would “benefit the European Union (EU) and NATO and to the detriment of Bosnian Serbs”.
The West’s passivity has added to the country’s instability, allowing Bosnian Serb leader Dodik to cross the red line again over the years.
But recently, the West seems to be paying more attention to the Balkan countries.
Washington imposed sanctions on Dodik in January, followed by sanctions imposed on him by London in April. The EU has so far refrained from imposing sanctions but has almost doubled its military presence in Bosnia to 1.100 men and women.
Austrian General Anton Wessely explained this as a “precautionary measure.”
The Minister of Foreign Affairs in Berlin is also considering sending Bundeswehr troops to BiH. Earlier, coalition circles talked about a contingent that could be sent in support of the European stabilization mission EUFOR Althea before the elections scheduled for October this year, Klix.ba writes.
