The United States will not stand aside and allow Bosnia and Herzegovina to enter into a new conflict. We support the territorial integrity, sovereignty and multi-ethnic character of BiH, that is our interest and our intention is to defend it," the American ambassador Michel Murphy told N1 on Wednesday.

When asked if there will be new conflicts in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and will the country disintegrate, Murphy said:

“I'll start by making an observation and saying that I understand why people are concerned about the political climate in BiH. They hear terrible rhetoric from politicians, especially [Republika Srpska President Milorad] Dodik and RS officials, threatening secession. Rhetoric that is really obstinate, comments that he ‘does not want to breathe the same air as Bosniaks’, that must worry everyone, it worries the international community. It’s terribly irresponsible and destabilizing. My government's policy on all this is clear – we firmly support the territorial integrity, sovereignty and multi-ethnic character of BiH. We want BiH to be integrated into the Euro-Atlantic institutions. We clearly say that, when those interests are threatened by local actors on the ground or foreign governments, the USA is ready to react, and you could see it in our reactions. We fight against it and speak clearly in public about this behaviour, we will continue to do so. We have used sanctions to hold individuals accountable for that behaviour and will continue to do so. We were clear, and it remains our policy, that we will not hold back when it comes to Dodik or any politician pushing the country towards conflict. That is not in the US interest and we will not allow it to happen.”

When pushed to say what will the US do specifically, Murphy said:

“We will not stand aside and allow BiH to enter into some new conflict, absolutely not. We will do the things we have done so far – insist on the responsibility of individuals and use the tools at our disposal to ensure that the individuals responsible for this type of behaviour, not only in rhetoric but also in actions, are held accountable. We will continue to support a strong EUFOR presence that has the capacity to defend the Dayton Peace Agreement and ensure a secure environment. As Secretary-General [Jens] Stoltenberg clearly said – we will not allow a security vacuum to be created in BiH, NATO will not allow it, and the US will not allow it. I will not enter into hypothetical conversations, but our policy is firm and clear. This has been the case for the last 30 years, we support the territorial integrity, sovereignty and multi-ethnic character of BiH, this is our interest and our intention is to defend it.”