US REAFFIRMS SUPPORT FOR BOSNIA'S TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY, DAYTON PEACE AGREEMENT

WASHINGTON, Feb 13 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- The US on Thursday reaffirmed its support for Bosnia and Herzegovina's territorial integrity and the Dayton Peace Agreement after Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik repeated secessionist rhetoric during and after a visit to Washington last week, Anadolu Ajansi (AA) reported.

In response to an inquiry from Anadolu, a State Department spokesperson stressed that Washington “continues to support the Dayton Peace Agreement and the territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

“The United States will continue to use its diplomatic tools to support BiH's stability and oppose actions that introduce threats of instability,” said the spokesperson, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, adding that the country's “future is for its people to shape.”

“We encourage all leaders to focus on delivering the stability and prosperity their citizens deserve,” the spokesperson added.

The remarks came after Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau met on Wednesday with Zeljko Komsic, the chairman of Bosnia and Herzegovina's three-member Presidency, to discuss “political stability and economic cooperation”, according to a State Department readout.

“The two also discussed advancing shared economic priorities, including the Southern Interconnection gas pipeline project, which will strengthen Bosnia and Herzegovina's energy security and provide access to US natural gas,” it added.

The meeting came days after Dodik, the former president of Republika Srpska (RS), visited Washington alongside other RS ​​officials, including Acting President Ana Trisic-Babic and Bosnia's Presidency member Zeljka Cvijanovic.

During his trip, Dodik reiterated calls for RS independence, arguing that separation from Bosnia and Herzegovina would ensure greater stability.

Dodik told the Financial Times that he had “high expectations” of Trump, adding: “When he says America First, that encourages us to say Republika Srpska first.”

Dodik was first sanctioned by the US in 2017 and again in 2022 for what the Obama and Biden administrations described as “corrupt activities and continued threats to stability and territorial integrity.”

He was delisted from US sanctions by the Trump administration late last year.

He was sentenced in 2024 to one year in prison and barred from politics for six years for defying decisions of the international High Representative, though the prison term was later converted to a fine.

Critics, including Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, have called for sanctions to be reimposed, arguing that Dodik continues to undermine Dayton and fuel instability.

The 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement ended Bosnia's 1992-1995 war and established the country as two entities: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska.

Disputes over its implementation remain a persistent source of political tension.

-- BERNAMA-ANADOLU