Updated
Updated · Bloomberg · Jun 27
US Threatens to Pull Bosnia Envoy Office Support by Month-End as France Resists Pick
Updated
Updated · Bloomberg · Jun 27

US Threatens to Pull Bosnia Envoy Office Support by Month-End as France Resists Pick

1 articles · Updated · Bloomberg · Jun 27

Summary

  • Month-end talks on Bosnia’s High Representative have hit a US ultimatum: Washington may withdraw support for the office if its preferred candidate is not appointed.
  • The US also tied its backing to German envoy Christian Schmidt leaving on schedule by the end of June, according to people familiar with the negotiations.
  • The standoff has split key Western governments, with the US and Italy aligned on one side and France leading opposition on the other.
  • Any US retreat would undermine support for the international office overseeing Bosnia’s postwar political framework at a moment of already fraught diplomacy.

Insights

As its international supervisor falters, is Bosnia and Herzegovina on an irreversible path to dissolution?
Is Washington sacrificing Bosnian stability for economic and energy interests in the volatile Balkan region?