Anna Luhrmann, Germany's secretary of state for Europe, said Wednesday, during the Bundestag debate on Bosnia and Herzegovina, that Germany was "shocked by the brutality of Russia's attack. Innocent citizens getting killed in an attempt to escape remind us of the Srebrenica genocide."

At the beginning of her presentation, Luhrmann said that today in the Bundestag we “remember the beginning of the war in BiH.”

“The Dayton Peace Accords have brought the war to an end, but we see that ethnic division in the country is present, dominating politics and blocking progress. Instead of being actively involved in history and reconciliation, today we again have nationalist rhetoric within the political discourse. This includes the denial of war crimes and genocide and even their glorification,” said the German Secretary of State.

She said that the Republika Srpska entity had taken concrete steps leading to secession from the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina and that this was an attack on the unified state, an attack on peace and security, an attack on the whole of Europe.

Luhrmann concluded that it was important to “show presence in the field and support Christian Schmidt”, the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“The reform process in BiH is very slow. It is clear that without the reform, there will be no candidate status for the EU. Politicians have this obligation not only towards the EU but also towards their country. When we talk about the Constitution and elections, discrimination must be removed and an important recommendation to prevent abuse must be implemented. Ethnic divisions must not deepen. If the agreement on the Election Law reform fails, the elections must be held in October. An attempt to boycott or move elections would only lead to increased tensions, and the country would be further behind,” she said.

Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development Svenja Schulze asked the European Commission to impose sanctions and suspend aid to Republika Srpska. At that moment, applause echoed in the hall.

During the discussion on BiH, Peter Beyer from the CDU recalled that there are efforts by the RS to secede.

“[BiH Presidency member Milorad] Dodik has the support of the Kremlin. The statements of the Russian ambassador to BiH on the NATO perspective are threatening,” Beyer said.