DE LUCA: LIFTING SANCTIONS – TRANSITION FROM COERCION TO COOPERATION

WASHINGTON, OCTOBER 30 /SRNA/ – Former U.S. federal prosecutor Martin De Luca stated that the United States’ decision to lift sanctions on nearly 60 individuals and companies from Republika Srpska, including President Milorad Dodik, marks a transition from coercion to cooperation, and from legal obligations to listening to the electorate.

De Luca noted that the U.S. carried out one of the largest coordinated sanction removals in modern history. "Unlike the usual, individual removals from the list, this was a unique, unified action that dismantled an entire sanctions regime which had defined U.S.– the Balkans relations for nearly a decade," he posted on X. He pointed out that BiH had for years been trapped in the logic of externally imposed legal obligations, where unappointed individuals dictated internal affairs, undermining trust and deepening divisions. "By lifting these sanctions, the U.S.A is putting into practice the principles presented by President Donald Trump in Riyadh and reiterated by Vice President James David Vance in Munich – that peace must rest on sovereignty and consent, not on foreign micromanagement, and that economic prosperity is the foundation of stability," De Luca emphasized. He assessed that the implications reach far beyond the Balkans. "This action demonstrates that America’s strength does not lie in endless confrontation, but in the courage to change course when diplomacy can achieve more than division ever could. Nations long burdened by sanctions can now see a clear path forward that rewards reconciliation, reform, and genuine partnership with the United States of America," De Luca stresses. He pointed out that this moment restores balance and opens a new chapter for BiH, where the U.S. leads by fostering opportunities in which reconciliation comes through growth, trade, and shared prosperity rather than ongoing political warfare. "This is, in every sense, a historic demonstration that U.S. leadership grounded in fairness and realism, can end cycles of punitive policy and build lasting peace through prosperity," De Luca concluded.