Schmidt will remain in BiH until the end of June

The member states of the Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) failed to reach a consensus during a two-day session in Sarajevo regarding the appointment of a new High Representative in BiH, diplomatic circles confirmed to the Sarajevo-based portal Kliks (Klix.ba).

The text states that the appointment of a new High Representative will wait until the end of June, until when German Christian Schmidt, who recently resigned from that position under pressure from the United States (US), will remain in that position.

At the PIC Steering Committee meeting, a discussion was held about two candidates, Italian diplomat Antonio Zanardi Landi and French diplomat Rene Trocaza.

Landia was proposed by Italy with the support of the USA, while Trokaza was proposed by France, with the support of Germany and Great Britain.

The member states of the PIC Steering Board also discussed a number of other topics during the two-day session, including digitalization, the economic situation in BiH, as well as the upcoming general elections in BiH.

The PIC Steering Committee is composed of representatives from the USA, Italy, France, Germany, Great Britain, Canada, Japan, Turkey, on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Countries, and the European Union (EU).

Russia has not participated in the work of the PIC Steering Board since 2022, when it "suspended" its activities in that body and funding of the Office of the High Representative in BiH (OHR), due to its opposition to the election of Christian Schmidt as High Representative, whose appointment was not confirmed by the United Nations (UN) Security Council.