Russia accused of fomenting conflicts in Bosnia amid of the Ukraine war

BANJA LUKA: As the battle in Ukraine rages on, analysts in Bosnia warn that Russia is fueling the flames of separatism, which might signal danger for the severely split Balkan country.

Since the conclusion of the conflict that claimed about 100,000 lives between 1992 and 1995, Bosnia has been divided into a Muslim-Croat federation and a Serb state known as Republika Srpska.

However, there are rising concerns that the deal that has sustained Bosnian peace for decades may be jeopardised.

Milorad Dodik, Bosnia’s Serb leader, has made no secret of his respect for and strong relations with President Vladimir Putin, and has become increasingly open about his separatist goals, a move generally considered to have the Kremlin’s support.

The latest warning came from US Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, who warned of a “very frightening period for Bosnia” on a recent trip to the Balkans.

“As Putin gets backed into a corner, he is going to look for other places to try to score victories. And one of them may be Bosnia, “he told CNN.

For centuries, Russia has maintained close connections with Serbs in the Balkans, based on their shared Slavic and Orthodox background as well as their strong alliances during the twentieth-century world wars.

The Russian government has long seen NATO’s engagement in the Balkans in the 1990s as a humiliating provocation, first in Bosnia and then against Serbia during the Kosovo conflict.

Since then, Russia has attempted to enhance its influence among Bosnian Serbs on the ground.

Moscow’s envoy to Sarajevo warned that if Bosnia joins NATO, it will “respond,” echoing Putin’s language prior to the strike on Ukraine. The embassy also warned the West against actions that may have destabilised Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Moscow often criticises the international high representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a post designed to supervise the peace agreements that ended the conflict, and calls for its removal.

Russia has denounced “growing attempts to rewrite the principles” of the accords “to the benefit of the EU and NATO and to the detriment” of Bosnia’s Serbs.

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