The Serbian member of Bosnia's tripartite presidency, Milorad Dodik, has raised an issue of vital interest to the country's ethnic Serbs with the National Assembly following the approval of the new German ambassador to Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The Bosnian presidency on September 2 approved Thomas Fitschen to be the new German ambassador with the votes of members Sefik Dzaferovic and Zeljko Komsic.
Dodik voted against, saying he would decide whether to raise an issue of vital national interest and send it to the Bosnian Serb assembly.
The cabinet of Nedeljko Cubrilovic, president of the assembly, received Dodik's request to hold a special session, the assembly said on September 5 in a news release.
At that session, deputies should express their opinion on Dodik's statement declaring the approval of Fitschen as Germany's ambassador "very harmful to the vital interests of the Republika Srpska."
Cubrilovic is expected to schedule a session of the collegium in the coming days to determine the date and agenda of the special session, the news release said.
According to the constitution, a consensus is required to approve foreign ambassadors, meaning all three members must vote for the decision.
If one member of the presidency votes against and the other two members vote for, a member can declare the decision harmful to the entity's vital interest.
That proclamation must then be confirmed within 10 days by the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska by a two-thirds majority.
Dodik, who has openly sought secession for Republika Srpska, last month criticized the arrival of German troops as part of the European Union's peacekeeping and security mission in to the Balkan state.
He previously refused to receive Christiane Hohmann, the former German ambassador to Bosnia, on her farewell visit, and does not recognize Christian Schmidt, who is German, as the international high representative to Bosnia.
Bosnia remains divided into a Bosniak and Croat federation and the mostly Serbian entity of Republika Srpska under the terms of a 1995 cease-fire known as the Dayton agreement.
Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic, meanwhile, expressed willingness to compromise during her first visit to Kosovo since taking office almost five years ago.
Serbia does not recognize Kosovo's independence, and around 3,700 NATO peacekeepers are in the country to prevent violence between the Albanian and Serbian communities.
Unrest among Serbs in northern Kosovo over demands for them to use Kosovar documents has raised fears of conflict between the two countries.
The government in Pristina recently set a two-month deadline for Serbs to switch to Kosovar license plates.
Earlier attempts to introduce Kosovar license plates in northern Kosovo led to clashes.
During her first visit to Kosovo since she took over as prime minister in 2017, Brnabic said, "Compromise in the interest of peace and stability -- definitely yes."
Serbs account for 5 percent of the 1.8 million people in Kosovo, and Serbia accuses Kosovo of trampling on their rights, a charge denied by Pristina.
Kosovo is recognized by some 100 countries including the United States and all but five EU members, but not by a number of other countries, including Russia and China.