SARAJEVO -- Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik denied on August 21 that the Serbian entity of Bosnia-Herzegovina has ever pursued a policy of secession and or disputed the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia under the Dayton agreement.
Dodik said, however, that Republika Srpska "has the right to a political fight for its status” under the Dayton agreement.
Dodik made the comments a day after CIA Director William Burns visited Sarajevo amid what a U.S. government official described to RFE/RL as “worrying secessionist rhetoric and actions.”
Bosnia “is a community of two equal entities and three constituent peoples, so I encourage Mr. Burns' position that the responsibility for the functioning of the country lies with all ethnic communities," Dodik said on X.
He also said he welcomed cooperation in the area of terrorism, indicating that he believed Burns made the visit to discuss that topic.
"The fight against terrorism is a duty of the entire free world. In this context, the visit by the CIA director, Mr. William Burns, to Bosnia-Herzegovina is important,” he said. “Republika Srpska is committed to this fight and welcomes any cooperation in this sphere."
The U.S. official who spoke with RFE/RL about Burns’ visit said the CIA director held meetings at the Bosnian presidency with colleagues in the intelligence community, members of the presidency, and the foreign minister.
"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.
Dodik, who has been designated for sanctions by the United States, backed a proposal in May that called for the “disassociation” of Republika Srpska from Bosnia. The United States called it “secession by another name” and said it contradicted the Dayton agreement, which ended the 1992-95 Bosnian War.
SEE ALSO: Bosnian Serbs' Move Toward Secession 'Dangerous, Irresponsible,' U.S. Envoy WarnsDodik has also 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.
Denis Becirovic, the current chairman of Bosnia's tripartite presidency, expressed gratitude to Burns for U.S. assistance to Bosnia in building a democratic and multiethnic state. He said he told Burns that the dangerous anti-Dayton policy of Republika Srpska threatens peace and security in Bosnia and the region.
"This is a very important visit, primarily from the security aspect, but it is also a confirmation of the strong support of the United States for the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Bosnia-Herzegovina," Becirovic said on Facebook.
Almir Dzuvo, the chief of Bosnia's Intelligence and Security Agency, who met with Burns on August 20, told RFE/RL that that the visit had been agreed to earlier and that Burns “expressed support for cooperation’ between the two countries’ intelligence agencies and between the United States and Bosnia.
Analysts and current and former Bosnian officials considered the visit a response to the challenges posed by the Kremlin's influence in the region and the secessionist aspirations of pro-Russian Bosnian politicians.
"I am convinced that this is a serious problem, because the director of the CIA rarely goes on such missions and publicly announces it,” said Srdja Pavlovic, a historian and associate of the Wirth Institute at the University of Alberta in Canada. “I suppose that one of the reasons is the growing malign influence of Serbia and Russia in the Balkans," Pavlovic told RFE/RL.
Margarita Assenova, a senior fellow at the Jamestown Foundation in Washington, agreed that Serbia has been stirring up trouble in Bosnia for some time and it’s become “more visible and more dangerous.”
Burns' visit is a “very good message” to Serbia that the United States will not tolerate its actions, Assenova said.