NATO Backs Bosnia Amid Serb Secessionist Threats

NATO "strongly" supports Bosnia's territorial integrity amid the "secessionist policies" of the Bosnian Serb leaders, says the Alliance's Deputy Secretary General, Mircea Geoana, at a meeting with the ambassadors of all the member countries in Sarajevo.

NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana reaffirmed the Alliance's support for Bosnia during a visit to Sarajevo, condemning the "secessionist policies" of Bosnian Serb leaders.

"NATO strongly supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina," said Geoana.

"Secessionist policies and divisive rhetoric undermined stability and hamper reforms and the well-being of your people," he added in a statement.

Bosnia-Herzegovina has in recent years faced frequent threats from the Bosnian Serb political leader Milorad Dodik, who heads the Republika Srpska.

Dodik has several times called for secession from Bosnia, which has earned him sanctions from the United States and Britain.

Dodik, who maintains close relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, has nevertheless repeatedly insisted that Bosnia is heading towards "peaceful separation".

NATO headquarters in Sarajevo will "continue to coordinate" its support with the European Union-led operation Althea (EUFOR) peacekeeping force, he added.

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, EUFOR has enlarged its presence in Bosnia, from 500 to 1,100 troops.

Bosnia was torn apart by a bloody inter-ethnic war in the 1990s that killed 100,000 people.

Today, it is a country divided into two entities: Serb, in favor of the country's military neutrality, and Bosnian-Croat, whose leaders want the country to join NATO.