Milorad Dodik, the president of Bosnia's Republika Srpska entity, met with newly appointed commander of EU military forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina Major General Helmut Habermayer, stressing the importance of the EUFOR Althea mission.

“President Dodik informed commander Habermayer that Republika Srpska is devoted to the peace and stability, as fundamental prerequisites for faster economic development and that it is fully devoted to the Dayton Peace Agreement, which has been devastated over the past years at the detriment of Republika Srpska,” Dodik's cabinet said in a press release.

It was also emphasised that Dodik stressed the importance of EUFOR Althea mission in BiH and that Republika Srpska and its institutions appreciate the mission's “professional, impartial and responsible approach to the preserving of peace and stability.”

Announcing the visit to Banja Luka, the administrative centre of the Serb-majority region in north of BiH, EUFOR commander said that “under my command, EUFOR continues to work in close cooperation with our partners and supports them in maintaining a safe and secure environment for all citizens of BiH.”

He also emphasised the impartial approach of EUFOR's role, noting that this visit comes as continuation of meetings with authorities at all levels.

“A clear sign of EUFOR’s partnership with all citizens of BiH is the continuous presence of EUFOR on the level of the municipalities via its LOT Houses”, Habermayer said prior to the visit.

He also recalled that EUFOR has recently returned to its original scheme of patrolling all over BiH to “demonstrate its commitment to all the citizens of BiH.”

He emphasised the partnership with Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, adding that EUFOR is committed to continue combined training with AF, “thus broaden its experiences and capabilities to obtain advanced interoperability.”

EUFOR is a capable and reliable partner to the BiH law enforcement agencies as well as police forces in both entities and Brcko District, Habermayer underlined.

EUFOR is a military deployment, tasked to oversee the military implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement, a treaty which ended the 1992-95 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina and introduced the country's constitutional system.