This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
CIA Director William Burns was in Sarajevo on August 20 to discuss the “worrying secessionist rhetoric and actions” of the pro-Russian president and government of Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Serb entity, a U.S. government official told RFE/RL.
Burns, who arrived from a diplomatic mission to Israel as part of the U.S. effort to negotiate a cease-fire in Gaza, held meetings at the Bosnian presidency with colleagues in the intelligence community, members of the presidency, and the foreign minister, the U.S. official said.
“They discussed issues of mutual interest, which include the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Bosnia-Herzegovina,” according to the official, who asked not to be named.
Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik, the pro-Russia president of the Serb entity of Bosnia, has raised concerns among Bosnia’s Western allies because of his ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Dodik reaffirmed in February after meeting Putin in the Russian republic of Tatarstan that Republika Srpska would not join Western sanctions against Moscow over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Dodik’s statements have been one of the main stumbling blocks in Bosnia’s progress toward EU membership since it became a candidate in 2022.
Almir Dzuvo, the chief of Bosnia’s Intelligence and Security Agency, confirmed earlier to RFE/RL that Burns was in Sarajevo. Burns “voiced his support for the cooperation of U.S. and Bosnian intelligence agencies” during his meeting with Dzuvo, the Bosnian intelligence chief told RFE/RL.
Bosnia’s head of diplomacy Elmedin Konakovic, who also met with Burns, said Bosnia “once again received confirmation of full support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Bosnia and condemnation of secessionist messages and moves.”
Konakovic told RFE/RL that while he could not comment on some parts of the discussion, a universal message was sent that the American administration is “very clear that Bosnia’s foreign policy partner is still firmly with Bosnia-Herzegovina.”
Margarita Assenova, a senior fellow at the Jamestown Foundation in Washington, said Serbia has been stirring up trouble in Bosnia for some time and it’s become “more visible and more dangerous.”
Burns’s visit is a “very good message” to Serbia that the United States will not tolerate its actions, Assenova said.
Trouble in the Balkans would play into the Kremlin’s hands as it could distract the United States and Europe from Russia’s war in Ukraine, she added, noting that President Joe Biden played an active role in U.S. foreign policy toward the Balkans while in the Senate and serving in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
A visit from one of the top people of the U.S. government shows the commitment of the United States and that Bosnia “is at the very top of the priorities of American foreign policy, which is very important for us,” he added.
The last CIA director to visit Bosnia-Herzegovina was John Brennan in 2016.
Sources told RFE/RL that Zeljka Cvijanovic, who has been designated for sanctions by the U.S. Treasury Department due to threats to the Dayton accords, was at the meeting at the Bosnian presidency. She is a member of Dodik’s Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) and a member of State Presidency of Bosnia.
