The international official overseeing the civilian implementation of Bosnia’s 1995 Peace Agreement called on the political leadership in BiH’s Republika Srpska (RS) entity to stop actions aimed at destabilizing the state and end the blockade of BiH institutions.

“Bosnia and Herzegovina is facing a serious crisis. Political stakeholders in the country, in particular the RS leadership, have the responsibility to de-escalate the current political tensions, particularly by desisting from attempted rollbacks and other actions aimed at undermining and destabilizing the State, ending the blockade of State-level and FBiH institutions, adopting zero tolerance for divisive and hateful rhetoric, and resuming the work necessary to advance much needed reforms, all of which are necessary if BiH is to move down the EU path,” High Representative Christian Schmidt said during his meeting with BiH Foreign Affairs Minister Bisera Turkovic on Friday.

The statement comes in light of the biggest political crisis in the country since the war over an initiative by RS leadership to withdraw from numerous state institutions and form its own, separate ones.

Schmidt emphasized the “firm commitment of the international community to BiH’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and path to becoming a vibrant, democratic and prosperous country,” an Office of the High Representative (OHR) statement said.