There will not be a new war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the US Department of State special envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, said on Friday, accusing the Serb member of the BiH Presidency, Milorad Dodik, of stoking a crisis to cover up his involvement in corruption.

The reasons behind this are corruption. Milorad Dodik is trying to protect his power and his money. I urge people not to fall for it, not to allow him to do that, Escobar said in an interview for Radio Free Europe (RFE).

On Sunday, Escobar is supposed to arrive in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is experiencing the biggest political crisis since the end of the war in 1995, and meet with the members of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Presidency Željko Komšić and Šefik Džaferović, but it is uncertain whether he would also meet, in Sarajevo or Banja Luka, with Dodik, the third member of the tripartite presidency.

A decision is yet to be made, Escobar said, explaining that after talks with US Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Eric Nelson, a decision would be made on whether there would be new sanctions against Dodik, which were, he said, on the table.

He underscored that it was completely clear that no one in the region supported Dodik's plans to weaken the central authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina and that there was no support for that even in Serbia, which he said was a partner of the US.

The most Dodik can gain by pursuing his goal of protecting his wealth is to turn the Republika Srpska entity into some kind of new Transnistria or South Ossetia, Escobar said.

I want people in Bosnia and Herzegovina to know that we are committed to preventing a new war. And trust me that all countries in the region, including the signatories of the Dayton Peace Agreement Croatia and Serbia, are committed to not seeing a new war in the region, Escobar said.

Answering the question of whether Croatia, Serbia and Turkey were interfering in Bosnia and Herzegovina's internal affairs, Escobar said that Zagreb and Belgrade had the right to have a say in the context of protecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina because they are signatories of the Dayton Agreement.

The US also welcomes Turkey's engagement in the Balkans, Escobar said.