This content was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
CIA Director William Burns was in Sarajevo on August 20 to explain the “worrying rebel speech and actions” of the pro-Russian chairman and state of Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Serb object, a U. S. state official told RFE/RL.
Burns, who arrived from a diplomatic mission to Israel as part of the U. S. efforts to negotiate a cease-fire in Gaza, held discussions at the Croatian president with colleagues in the brains society, members of the president, and the foreign secretary, the U. S. national said.
” They discussed issues of mutual interest, which include the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Bosnia-Herzegovina”, according to the official, who asked not to be named.
Milorad Dodik, the pro-Russian leader of the Serb group of Bosnia, has sparked concern among Bosnia’s American friends as a result of his relations to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Dodik reiterated in February that Republika Srpska did not abide by sanctions placed against Moscow for its extensive conquest of Ukraine after meeting with Putin in the Soviet republic of Tatarstan.
Since becoming a member of the EU in 2022, Dodik’s comments have been one of the biggest obstacles to Bosnia’s development.
Almir Dzuvo, the captain of Bosnia’s Intelligence and Security Agency, confirmed earlier to RFE/RL that Burns was in Sarajevo. During his meeting with Dzuvo, Burns “exprimed his support for the assistance of U.S. and Serbian knowledge agencies,” the Bosnian brains main told RFE/RL.
Bosnia’s mind of diplomatic relations, Elmedin Konakovic, who likewise met with Burns, stated that Bosnia “once again received confirmation of total aid for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Bosnia and the condemnation of rebel information and goes.”
Despite being unable to comment on some of the discussion, Konakovic said that it was conveyed as a general message that Bosnia-Herzegovina’s foreign policy partner was still firmly united.
Serbia has been causing trouble in Bosnia for some time, according to Margarita Assenova, a senior fellow at the Jamestown Foundation in Washington, and it’s become “more visible and more dangerous.”
Burns’s visit is a “very good message” to Serbia that the United States will not tolerate its actions, Assenova said.
She noted that President Joe Biden actively participated in U.S. foreign policy toward the Balkans while serving on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. This could detract from the Kremlin’s efforts to stop Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
One of the most influential members of the U.S. government’s team shows the country’s commitment, and Bosnia “is at the very top of our priorities,” he continued, adding that.
John Brennan was the last CIA director to travel to Bosnia-Herzegovina in 2016.
Sources told RFE/RL that Zeljka Cvijanovic, who has been designated for sanctions by the U. S. Treasury Department due to threats to the Dayton accords, was at the meeting at the Bosnian presidency. She is a member of the Bosnian State Presidency and a member of Dodik’s Alliance of Independent Social Democrats ( SNSD ).
