USA to reconsider its role in Bosnia, being prompted by “European indecisiveness“

The Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC), at a two-day session concluded on Thursday in Sarajevo, failed to select a candidate to succeed Christian Schmidt as High Representative of the international community responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement.

This prompted the US embassy in Sarajevo to issue a sharply-worded statement, accusing European countries of blocking the selection of the candidate, proposed by Washington.

“It was publicly and widely expected that at the June 3-4 meeting, the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) would select a new High Representative to provide stability for Bosnia and Hercegovina (BiH),“ reads the statement released on X.

“The US delegation strove to achieve a consensus around a commonly shared vision and Italy’s well-qualified candidate, the experienced diplomat Ambassador Antonio Zanardi Landi.

“Secretary Rubio described Italy’s candidate to Congress as a 'gentleman that we think would do a good job of helping provide some stability to that position',“ says the US embassy.

“The United States takes note of the European failure to reach consensus around a European candidate and is disappointed these divisions prevented the PIC from fulfilling its task to elect a new High Representative. “

“European indecisiveness, and the PIC’s abdication of its own duty toward BiH, is forcing the United States to reconsider our role in the current international presence in Bosnia and Herzegovina,“ the statement concludes.

It has not been specified what this will mean in practice, but the United States has so far been the largest individual donor providing funding for the Office of the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina (OHR) and a permanent member of the Peace Implementation Council Steering Board.

According to available information, influential European countries such as France, Germany and the United Kingdom have reservations about Zanardi Landi, due to the US insistence on his appointment.

Instead, France has proposed its envoy for the Western Balkans, Rene Troccaz.

The outgoing High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt, said after the unsuccessful Steering Board session that he expects his successor to be appointed soon, indicating that this could happen by the end of June.