PAVIĆ: MAJOR PROGRESS FOR REPUBLIKA SRPSKA

BELGRADE, JULY 1 /SRNA/ - The appointment of American Louis Crishock as acting high representative in BiH marks a major step forward for Republika Srpska, political analyst Aleksandar Pavić told SRNA.

Pavić said the key question now is whether the Americans and Europeans will be able to reach a compromise by July 14, the deadline by which the Peace Implementation Council /PIC/ Steering Board has committed to agreeing on the appointment of a new high representative. He said Crishock's appointment demonstrates the depth of disagreement and the widening divide between the United States, namely the administration of President Donald Trump, and the European powers in Brussels, Berlin, London and Paris, where, as he put it, "the Europeans want another Schmidt or Inzko," while Italian diplomat Antonio Zanardi Landi, the US nominee, "would certainly adhere to the genuine powers under the Dayton Agreement rather than the self-proclaimed Bonn powers". Pavić stressed that an acting high representative cannot carry the same authority as a high representative appointed through the procedure established by the Dayton Peace Accords. "He is clearly only a temporary appointee and cannot act with full authority. He would neither have the weight nor the legitimacy to operate as Schmidt did, and considering that the Americans have made their view of Schmidt clear, it is very difficult to expect the US administration to give him the green light to act in the same way," Pavić said. According to him, Crishock's appointment is another indication that there will be no return to the previous situation, which is what matters most for Republika Srpska. "We now have a United States that no longer supports the so-called Bonn powers, only the Europeans who will try to push that agenda, Russia and China, which oppose the appointment of another colonial administrator, and Banja Luka, which is firmly determined not to allow the continuation of colonial rule, the imposition of decisions, or the unlawful removal of democratically elected representatives of the people," Pavić said. EU member states and the United States again failed to reach agreement at yesterday's meeting of the PIC Steering Board on the appointment of a new high representative, and Louis Crishock was appointed acting high representative pending the appointment of a new one. The United States insists that Italian diplomat Antonio Zanardi Landi be appointed as the new high representative, while EU member states led by France and Germany are backing French diplomat Rene Troccaz. Crishock will assume office tomorrow, and the PIC Steering Board has committed to reaching agreement on the appointment of a new high representative as soon as possible, with the goal of completing the process by July 14. Schmidt was appointed nearly five years ago by the PIC, a body not envisaged under the Dayton Peace Accords, rather than by the UN Security Council, as Republika Srpska argues is required, which is why it has not recognized him as high representative. On May 12, Schmidt announced at a session of the UN Security Council that he would leave BiH in June.