NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg expressed concern over secessionist rhetoric in Bosnia, and Russian influence in the country, following months of Serb leaders expressing their desire to split away. Bosnia emerged from a 1992-1995 war with a federal structure uniting a Serb-dominated republic with a federation of Croats and Bosniak Muslims. The leader of Serbian entity, Milorad Dodik, has been increasingly expressing his intention to secede and join Serbia. Stoltenberg emphasised the need for unity, national institutions, and reconciliation.
Bosnia remains divided, with its economy stagnating and people leaving en masse. NATO deployed around 60,000 troops in Bosnia after the war, which were replaced by an EU peacekeeping force, EUFOR, in 2004. Last year, the EU almost doubled the EUFOR size to 1,100 troops due to concerns about instability from the Ukraine war spilling over to the Western Balkans. Stoltenberg emphasised that NATO cannot allow a security vacuum in Bosnia and Herzegovina and has warned about risks from foreign interference, particularly from Russia.
NATO remains committed to supporting Bosnia’s Euro-Atlantic path and ensuring every country has the right to choose its security arrangements without foreign interference. However, pro-Russian Bosnian Serbs have withdrawn their support for joining the alliance, effectively halting Bosnia’s Atlantic integration ambitions.
CENTRAL EASTERN EUROPE NEWS
NATO Chief Alarmed by Prospect of Bosnian Succession
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