Schmidt says he faced “enormous pressure” from U.S. before stepping down

In an interview with the German newspaper Augsburger Allgemeine, Schmidt said he chose to step down in order to avoid damage to the institution of the High Representative amid political disputes whose background, he said, remains unclear to him.

“I can only say that there has been enormous and surprising pressure from the U.S.,” Schmidt said when asked whether President Donald Trump had pushed him to resign.

“Because I wanted to avoid the institution of the High Representative being damaged by this discussion, the background of which is not entirely clear to me, I am leaving somewhat earlier than I had imagined,” he added.

Schmidt also addressed reports that he had obstructed a pipeline project linked to investors close to Trump.

“The issue played a role, but I was never against this project,” Schmidt said, referring to a planned pipeline connecting Croatia and Bosnia. He argued that the project was originally backed by the EU to reduce Bosnia’s dependence on Russian oil and gas.

“I am still surprised that the same EU failed to build this pipeline with European funds, and that Bosnia now needs the Americans for it,” he said.

Schmidt sharply criticized Milorad Dodik, accusing the Bosnian Serb leader of separatist politics and describing him as his “main opponent.”

“He is furious because I closed loopholes in criminal law,” Schmidt said, adding that Dodik once referred to him as a “Gauleiter” during a press conference with Russia’s foreign minister. Schmidt also claimed that one Bosnian official sent him an SS helmet as an insult and that there had even been calls for him to be stoned.

The outgoing High Representative warned that a successful secession of Republika Srpska would mean the breakup of Bosnia and Herzegovina and said people in the country are beginning to fear another war.

“If Mr. Dodik succeeds, Bosnia will break apart,” Schmidt said. “People here are starting to become afraid of a new war.”

Schmidt also criticized Europe’s limited engagement with the Western Balkans, arguing that the region’s instability directly affects the rest of the continent.

“We are often already happy if we hear nothing from the Western Balkans, because that means things are somehow functioning there,” he said. “But Europe is making things too easy for itself. The Balkans’ problems are also our problems.”