The UN high representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina has warned that the multi-ethnic state could fall apart after being forced to resign in a policy clash with the United States, seemingly complicated by the commercial interests of a firm linked to Donald Trump Jr that is seeking to invest in the region. Christian Schmidt, a German Christian Democrat, made the remarks during a scheduled meeting with the UN Security Council in New York on Tuesday.
Schmidt, who has served as high representative for five years, said his post should be maintained and that he would remain until a successor is appointed. The role was established under the 1995 Dayton peace agreement, which ended a three-year ethnic war that killed more than 100,000 people. The high representative has wide powers, including amending laws, but is subject to a 55-member multinational governing board.
Schmidt's appointment has always been opposed by Russia and the largely autonomous Republika Srpska, the Serb-run entity. He clashed with the former Republika Srpska president Milorad Dodik, a close ally of Vladimir Putin, whom he disqualified from office for six months for failing to comply with his decisions. Dodik was subject to US sanctions until last year, when they were lifted in a reversal not coordinated with the EU, signalling a shifting US approach to the western Balkans.
Schmidt told the council: "The persistent denial of the multi-ethnic character of the entities, particularly within Republika Srpska, has evolved into systematic exclusion." He said it was "deeply concerning that narratives portraying Bosnia [and] Herzegovina as a stage for a so-called clash of civilisations have re-emerged", singling out Dodik for using explicitly secessionist terms. Dodik welcomed Schmidt's resignation, saying he "leaves Bosnia and Herzegovina the same way he arrived: with no legitimacy, no UN security council decision and no backing from international law."
Diplomats fear the US will call either for the abolition of the high representative post or for the appointment of its preferred candidate. The EU is expected to resist such a move, while the UK reiterated its support for a fully empowered high representative as the cornerstone of civilian implementation of the Dayton agreement. The resignation comes amid controversy over a $1.5bn (£1.1bn) contract awarded without a tender to AAFS Infrastructure and Energy, a US firm fronted by Donald Trump's personal lawyer Jesse Binnall and Joe Flynn, brother of Michael Flynn, to build a pipeline for US liquefied natural gas into Bosnia. The EU has criticised the deal as possibly jeopardising Bosnia's bid to join the bloc.
