Michael Murphy, the US Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina, spoke in an exclusive interview with N1 about his recent meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, commenting also on current position of Milorad Dodik, the President of Bosnia's Republika Srpska entity, and saying that he took a “dangerous path.”

There will be no division of Bosnia and Herzegovina nor secession, he stressed.

Dodik's threats, ambassador told N1's Nikola Vucic, are irresponsible and his rhetoric is inflammatory. Seceding from Bosnia and Herzegovina is impossible and there is no legal ground for that, he added.

According to him, Dodik is trying to divert the attention from his own failures and inability of his government to avoid putting Republika Srpska under the financial mortgage.

Implications can be serious, the ambassador stressed, adding that Dodik is wrong if he thinks that the United States will stay aside while he is persistently taking BiH towards conflicts. We will protect Bosnia and Herzegovina, he underlined.

As for the meeting with Serbian President Vucic, the ambassador explained that the main topic of the talks was the US’ support to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of BiH. Also, the emphasis of the talk was on the importance of functional, efficient and responsible state institutions, said the ambassador, adding that Vucic agreed with that.

This was not his first visit outside BiH, Murphy recalled, noting that last year he travelled to meet the NATO officials to discuss the situation in BiH and that they firmly advocated restored cooperation and stronger partnership between BiH and NATO.

According to Murphy, BiH has no better friend than the United States, which means protection of citizens, multiethnic character, territorial integrity and sovereignty.

The US policy towards BiH has not changed, the ambassador stressed, reiterating support to territorial integrity and sovereignty of BiH and that the future of BiH is not negotiable.