US Secretary of State Antony Blinken sent a letter to the heads of diplomacy of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, Elmedin Konakovic and Gordan Grlic Radman, to put pressure on the leader of the Croat Democratic Union (HDZ BiH), Dragan Covic, to 'stop obstructing' the gas connection between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

A copy of Blinken's letter was first published by news portals in Bosnia, and its authenticity was confirmed by the country’s foreign Minister. It noted that the construction of the Southern Gas Interconnection between Croatia and Bosnia is crucial for Bosnia’s “energy security.”

The US Secretary of State named Dragan Covic, the leader of the HDZ of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Croat National Assembly of BiH, as the direct culprit for the delay in the start of construction of the gas pipeline. He asserted that the delay in the continuation of the construction of the gas pipeline threatens its realization.

“Given this project is in the clear interest of your country and region, I encourage you and others in your government to put press HDZ of Bosnia and Herzegovina leader Dragan Covic, to end his obstruction on this matter,” Blinken's said letter. According to him, the demands of the HDZ BiH leader to establish a special company based in Mostar that would implement the construction of the gas pipeline with Croatia represent duplication, it is economically unsustainable and threatens the entire project.

“Such obvious corruption and self-dealing could jeopardize Bosnia and Herzegovina's EU path,” Blinken added.

He called on the upper house of the Federation (FBiH) entity’s Parliament to adopt the law on the Southern Gas Interconnection and that the work of the gas operator is exclusively performed by the BH-Gas company based in Sarajevo.

“The United States does not support any efforts that undermines the Southern Gas Interconnection’s potential to deliver energy security,” the letter said.

In the copy published by the media in Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is stated that an identical letter with a request was sent to the Croatian Foreign Minister, Gordan Grlic Radman.

The statement by the US Secretary of State followed after the US Ambassador to BiH also called out Covic, last year, for obstructing the construction of the gas pipeline between BiH and Croatia.

In his recent interview with Vecernji list daily, Covic said that his party wants the headquarters of the company to be in Mostar, which would be owned by the FBiH, and that their proposal is fully in line with European directives and the European Energy Community.

The Southern Gas Interconnection Project should connect the gas pipelines of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, which would make the country no longer dependent only on Russian gas arriving via the Turkish gas stream. It should connect with Croatia in the area of Imotski, and within BiH it would have two branches – one leading to the center of the country, and the other to Mostar.

The work on that project was started by BH-Gas, a company owned by the FBiH, which, due to the recent unilateral supply contract and transition to the Turkish stream, is being sued by the Hungarian FGSZ before the arbitration court in Zurich with a compensation claim of $21 million, which could completely threaten their business.

Journalist Ivica Puljić wrote on his official X account that Blinken's letter is a clear sign that the leader of HDZ BiH is facing US sanctions.

Puljic added that Covic should have been on the US “black list” before the New Year, but “they wanted to try one more time.”