High and even higher

(oslobodjene.ba)

Despite expectations, the two-day gathering of the Peace Implementation Council in Bosnia and Herzegovina ended without a hitch: the new head of the OHR was not elected, although it seemed that all roads led to Antonio Zanardi Landi walking into the White House on the banks of the Miljacka River. That he himself believed in it is clear from his arrival in Sarajevo and at the session. The ground for this undertaking was quite well-plowed, various names were whispered to journalists, for the sake of competition, and even the United States threw out its own, alleged candidate, William Ruger, who from the beginning was clearly in orbit with the goal of so that the hairs don't come back, because Landi is the American favorite. In the same package was Emanuele Giaufret, an Italian like Landi, best known for his position as head of the EU Delegation to Serbia, who began his diplomatic career in Israel and is currently deputy director of the European External Action Service in Brussels.

It was an equation without a single unknown: three names, two Italian candidates, two American proposals, and it was not necessary to wait for the session to make it official that the Italian and US governments were behind Landi. However, as French diplomat Réne Troccaz was thrown into the race with 12 minutes to go, and with pressure from important guests from the European Union, it was obvious that the appointment would not go smoothly, perhaps precisely because of the way Landi was being played for, it turned out that the key European powers, France and Germany, had secured the support of Great Britain, America's most loyal partner on our continent, for Troccaz, so the extension was scheduled for the end of the month.

Landi was not angry, not even Italy, Milorad Dodik, the leader of the SNSD, was furious, and the cup of bile was poured out from the USA. Declaring the PIC session (Peace Implementation Council - ed.) European failure, reproaching the Europeans for their indecision(?!), and the entire PIC for its unwillingness to fulfill its own duty towards BiH, the American embassy in Sarajevo announced its disappointment and a public threat from its country to question its own role in the international presence in BiH. As Russia used to do: only the agreement that represents absolute agreement with their proposal is valid. The proven Russophile Dodik, however, did not hide his joy, because that is all he wants - confrontation of Western elites, total fiasco of the PIC, to reiterate his own views about our country, as completely impossible, which not made to survive, but to suffer, The problem is that you need to get out of this suffering., continuing the chain of secessionist rhetoric, emboldened by statements about the latest enemy - the European Union - which lies all over, so don't trust it.

The question for Trump's entourage remains to what extent Dodik's statement is salt in Marco Rubio's wounds, because the US Secretary of State was not happy when he tried to explain the State Department budget to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and was asked the reasons for lifting sanctions on the head of the SNSD, his family and friends. The Vice Chair of the Committee, long-time Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen, made her question bold with the figure of 225 days, how long have the Senate and Congress been waiting for a briefing on this topic?! Although most media outlets conclude that even if the requested report is submitted to Congress, it has no impact on US foreign policy, which is largely left to the will of the president, Rubio's need to reassure Senator Shaheen is eloquent enough: the Secretary of State revealed to the Committee that he was targeting Landi, emphasizing that "the last thing the US wants to see is any conflict, division or secession that could cause new conflicts." A few months ago, Rubio publicly admitted that within the Trump administration there are divided views on relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina, but even then he was clear: regardless of the differences, the situation must not lead to the disintegration of the country or a new conflict. So, he opposes everything that Dodik advocates, while insisting on the economic interests of the USA, in which the Southern Interconnection should be placed.

However, the Americans have not made a statement either in Sarajevo or at home - at least publicly - about the powers of the OHR, which the leading European media outlets point out as the fundamental motive for the battle over the candidate. Bloomberg and the Guardian claim that the US is the only advocate of loose governance of the OHR, while the other PIC members remain with the current powers for the final interpretation of the Dayton Agreement. Bloomberg inquired with the governments of key European countries and the US Embassy in our country, but the only answer he received was from a French official who wished to remain anonymous and who emphasized that even between Italy and France there is no dispute over the mandate of the OHR, although they have different candidates. Which is to say that Landi's biggest flaw is that there is agreement among European countries that he would not implement the PIC's decisions, but would exclusively follow the American MAGA wishes.

Antonio Landi is a long-serving diplomat, a lawyer, born in Udine, and the Ambassador of the Sovereign Order of Malta to the Vatican. He began his career at Fiat, has been in diplomacy since 1978, and has served in Ottawa, Tehran, London, and the Italian Embassy to the Holy See, and from 2004 to 2006 he was the Italian Ambassador to the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, which then disintegrated. This, along with his ambassadorship in Russia from 2010 to 2013, and his statement that Belgrade and Moscow are particularly close to his heart, are a reason for suspicion among domestic actors. Landi has been a diplomatic advisor to the President of Italy since 2013, only to return to the Holy See in 2016. He is married to Sabina Cornaggia Medici, a descendant of the old Lombard aristocracy, and some claim that this is precisely what impresses MAGA currents. Anyway, he has a (difficult) diplomatic mission to convince Brussels, London, Berlin and Paris that he is able to meet the expectations of the PIC, and not just the MAGA part of the USA.

His opponent does not have this kind of problem. Réne Troccaz is the current French special envoy for the Western Balkans, he is 67 years old and has held a number of posts in diplomacy and the French administration in international affairs. He was Consul General in Jerusalem for four years, until 2023, and another three at the beginning of the century, he served as French ambassador in Nicosia, Cyprus, and for a time he served in Rabat, Morocco. With his candidacy, European media agree, France has entered a battle for supremacy with the US, but not everyone agrees to what extent Great Britain is on the side of Emmanuel Macron in this clash, about whom the US president has a number of objections. In our specific case, London is full of Paris and Berlin and the powers of the OHR. This is also clear from the statement in which the Europeans jointly responded to the US threats, politely emphasizing that the new head of the OHR should be from one of the EU countries, which BiH also aspires to, and emphasizing the importance of cooperation with the US, as well as perseverance in harmonizing and bringing positions closer together in order to find a person who will act as an integrative factor and cooperate with all actors in and around BiH. The final is at the end of the month.