Bosnian Croat leader Dragan Covic and Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik have met in Eastern Sarajevo on Tuesday to discuss the political situation in the country and its path toward the EU. The meeting was not announced to media beforehand.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is divided into two semi-autonomous entities, one dominantly populated by the country’s ethnic Serbs, while the other one is mostly populated by Bosniaks and Croats.

Covic is the leader of the Croat Democratic Union (HDZ), the main Croat political party in the country, and is currently a member of Bosnia’s tripartite Presidency.

He has been advocating for the establishment of a Croat-majority sub-state unit in Bosnia, saying that Croats are marginalized in the Federation (FBiH) entity, which they share with the Bosniaks.

Dodik is the leader of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD), one of the main Bosnian Serb parties in the country. He is also serving as President of Republika Srpska (RS), Bosnia’s Serb-dominated semi-autonomous entity.

Dodik has been advocating for the secession of the RS from Bosnia for years, saying Bosnia’s Serb-dominated part should unite with neighboring Serbia.

In May, the two leaders announced they will enter a coalition, following Bosnia’s October 2018 general election, which both said they expect they will win.

Covic is up for reelection, while Dodik is running for Bosnia’s state Presidency as well, to represent Serbs.

The Tuesday meeting was also attended by Bosnia’s Finance Minister, Vjekoslav Bevanda (HDZ), the Finance Minister of the FBiH entity, Jelka Milicevic (HDZ) and RS Finance Minister Zoran Tegeltija (SNSD).

The theme of the meeting was also the burning issue of the country’s Election Law, which was declared unconstitutional in 2016 and needs to be changed so the results of the October election can be implemented.

The HDZ and the SNSD cooperate well at all levels, the leaders pointed out at the meeting.