The High Representative of the international community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Valentin Inzko, confirmed on Friday evening that a replacement is being sought for him, and added in a statement to the Austrian news agency APA, that the
He told the Viennese daily “Standard” and the APA that Germany had expressed interest in his position.
“Personally, after twelve years in this position, I would welcome a change in the position of High Representative,” Inzko said. He pointed out that, however, some more questions are open. According to him, for a couple of years now, Russia has refused to support the decisions of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC), which is in charge of the High Representative.
The Austrian media reported the media from BiH that the German ambassador in Sarajevo talked with the members of the Presidency of BiH, Zeljko Komsic and Sefik Dzaferovic, about Schmidt.
The “standard” indicates that Inzko was often left stranded by the international community, even though he was attacked by nationalists.
The paper also states that the candidate for his position, Schmidt, is close to the Croatian HDZ.
“A year ago, Schmidt received the Ante Starčević Order from Prime Minister Andrej Plenković. While Plenković is not a nationalist personally, his HDZ in
In an interview with the APA at the end of November, Inzko said that the change of the High Representative was not crucial for the future of BiH, but a “paradigm shift”. “What is needed is a new and stable policy towards BiH on the Biden-Brussels-Berlin line,” Inzko said at the time.
