The appointment of the new US ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina is a matter concerning the US but the diplomat should know he must respect the Dayton Peace Agreement, said Serb member of Bosnian tripartite Presidency Milorad Dodik.

Dodik's comment came a day after the announcement of the nomination of Michael Murphy for the post of the US ambassador in Sarajevo.

“The ambassador is tasked to carry out American interests, we have some interests of our own, but it is important for him to know that the situation here has significantly changed compared to before. We know him from earlier, from some earlier periods, but this is not 2005 or 2008 but 2021, when the letter of Dayton must absolutely be respected and that's our policy,” said Dodik, referring to the peace deal that ended the 1992-95 war in Bosnia and which contains the country's Constitution in one of its annexes.

He said he learned about this appointment two months ago but that it was polite on the US’ part to announce it.