Bosnia Presidency Chairman Sefik Dzaferovic welcomed the decision of the UK government to deploy military experts to Bosnia and Herzegovina to bolster NATO mission in the country.

The statement comes hours after prime minister Boris Johnson announced the UK would sent military specialists to Bosnia and Herzegovina to reinforce the NATO mission there and promote stability and security in the country.

The announcement sparked reactions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, particularly among the Serb leadership, with Bosnia Serb Presidency member Milorad Dodik saying that the experts cannot enter the country legally.

According to Dzaferovic, NATO has rights to expand its capacities if it assesses the security situation requires so.

“The NATO Headquarters in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as the legal successor of the original international military mission, exists on the basis of the Dayton Peace Agreement, and in addition has the prior consent of the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina for its activities. The NATO Headquarters, with the legal arrangements that regulate this issue, has the right and obligation to expand its capacities, according to its assessments of the security situation in BiH, and it does not need the consent of the BiH authorities, especially the consent of the entity authorities for that,” said Dzaferovic.

He noted that “all relevant findings” indicate that the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina over the past year has become dangerous and worrying due to the secessionist activities of the entity authorities in Bosnia's Serb-majority entity, Republika Srpska.

“Particularly worrying are the latest announcements by BiH Presidency member from Republika Srpska about waiting the right moment for the secession as well as the statements by head of the entity government about the formation of unconstitutional agency for medicines and that Republika Srpska will, despite decisions of the Constitutional Court, insist on dissolution of institutional structure of BiH,” stressed Dzaferovic, adding that attempts to destroy the Dayton Agreement and constitutional order of Bosnia and Herzegovina will not succeed.