Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and the Deputy Speaker of the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dragan Covic, underlined the importance of preserving peace and stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) during their talks in Zagreb on Wednesday.

Plenkovic received Covic at the government headquarters, with Croatia's Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlic Radman and Darijana Filipovic, a member of the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly, also attending the meeting.

Covic stressed that “it is necessary to continue efforts to stabilise political dialogue, ensure the proper functioning of institutions and advance the European integration process.”

He added that he expects the urgent implementation of domestic priorities and foreign policy goals, emphasising that peace, stability and territorial integrity must be fully safeguarded, according to a Croatian government statement.

Plenkovic also highlighted the importance of protecting peace, stability and territorial integrity, particularly in light of this year's 30th anniversary of the signing of the Dayton-Paris Peace Agreement.

Political tensions in Croatia's neighbour have escalated following a first-instance verdict sentencing Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik to prison for failing to comply with decisions of the international High Representative for BiH.

In response, the leadership of Republika Srpska (RS) has launched initiatives to adopt legislation banning the operation of the BiH Court and Prosecutor's Office, as well as state-level security agencies in the Serb entity.

The RS authorities are also threatening to strip state institutions of power, which would include withdrawing Serb personnel from BiH-level government bodies.

Following the verdict on 26 February, Dodik gave a one-month deadline for BiH to “return to its constitutional framework” and ordered the police to arrest High Representative Christian Schmidt if they see him in RS territory.