The office of Bosnia’s international administrator would not comment on reports by local media saying that talks on determining the top official's potential successor are ongoing, arguing that this is a question for the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) - the body composed of foreign ambassadors overseeing the implementation of Bosnia’s 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement.

Some local media reported that Germany’s Ambassador in BiH, Margret Uebber, met with the Croat member of Bosnia’s tripartite Presidency, Zeljko Komsic, to discuss a possible successor to the High Representative in the country, Austrian Diplomat Valentin Inzko.

However, neither the office of Komsic, his Bosniak colleague in the Presidency, Sefik Dzaferovic, nor ambassador Uebber would confirm this information for N1.

The Office of the High Representative (OHR), said that Inzko “will refrain from commenting on any names in terms of his potential successor.”

“The High Representative's focus will continue to be on the implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement. The goal is for Bosnia and Herzegovina to be a stable and functional country, irreversibly on the Euro-Atlantic path it chose. The High Representative welcomes any steps that would lead to the strengthening of the OHR and the commitment of the international community to achieve this goal,” the OHR told N1.

It said that the High Representative has “repeatedly stated that the situation still prevailing in BiH makes discussions on closing the Office of the High Representative premature.”

“As the High Representative wishes to refrain from any speculation on this subject, any questions should be addressed to the members of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) Steering Board,” the OHR said.