A high-ranking NATO delegation led by Deputy Secretary-General Mircea Geoana arrived in Bosnia-Herzegovina for two days of talks amid secessionist threats that could undermine the Balkan nation’s aspirations to join the Western military alliance.
Bosnian authorities had earlier pledged their support for joining NATO but that is on hold because of opposition from Serb-dominated Republika Srpska, which wants the nation to remain neutral.
Geoana and other NATO representatives on February 1 met with two members of the Bosnian tripartite presidency, Denis Becirovic and Zeljko Komsic. The third member, Zeljka Cvijanovic, who represents Republika Srpska, did not attend.
Milorad Dodik, the pro-Russian president of Republika Srpska who is under U.S. and U.K. sanctions, has called for secession from Bosnia.
Bosnia has military and political representatives in NATO headquarters in Brussels. Meanwhile, NATO has had its own staff in the country since 2004 as part of a UN mandate to help reform its armed forces.
Since 2018, Bosnia has been a part of NATO’s Annual National Program, which is the last step before full membership in the alliance.
The NATO delegation also met with members of the Council of Ministers as well as members of parliament. Geoana pitched the benefits of NATO membership to Bosnian officials, saying those Eastern European countries that have joined the alliance since the end of the Cold War are more prosperous and more secure.
The NATO delegation will visit the Rajlovac military base near Sarajevo on February 2 to discuss Bosnia-NATO cooperation.