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Boris Johnson during his visit to Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina in April 2017. Photo: EPA/FEHIM DEMIR
At the request of NATO Headquarters Sarajevo, a UK military counter-disinformation expert and a civilian strategic defence adviser will be deployed to Bosnia to support and train its armed forces.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is widely seen as facing the greatest threat to its existence in the post-war period, with secessionist leaders actively working to create conflict – backed by Moscow as part of Russia’s plan to undermine stability and Euro-Atlantic integration in the region.
The goal is to bolster the NATO HQ and Bosnia’s own ability to resist malign influences and block the attempts to undermine democracy in Bosnia and the region. “We cannot allow the Western Balkans to become another playground for [Vladimir] Putin’s pernicious pursuits,” Johnson said.
“That is why we are stepping up support to Bosnia and Herzegovina, answering the call from our friends to help protect the peace they so rightfully deserve to enjoy,” he added.
The UK also plans to allocate £750,000 to establish a cyber-security centre within the University of Sarajevo in order to effectively fight cyber-attacks prior to general elections.
The UK also plans to work closely with local media and institutions to equip them with tools to identify and mitigate the effects of lies and disinformation.
This UK decision came on the last day of the NATO Summit in Madrid, where Bosnia’s representatives also took part.
Bosnian Serb leader and member of the state presidency Milorad Dodik strongly supports Russian President Vladimir Putin’s politics and Russia is a close ally of Bosnia’s mainly Serbian entity, Republika Srpska.
Dodik was one of the last European leaders to meet with Putin on June 17, at the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, where he thanked Putin for keeping gas prices low for his entity.
Earlier this month, the UK announced the deployment of around 40 military personnel to Bosnia, to ensure “free and fair” elections and counter unnamed “malign external influences”.
Bosnia’s aspiration to join NATO goes back to 2006, but even though many steps and reforms have been made, membership has never been granted due mainly to internal political blockades.
Most Bosnian Serbs do not want to join the Atlantic Alliance, not least because of NATO’s role in expelling Serbian forces from Kosovo.
In February 2021, the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the state government, took major steps on the path to Euro-Atlantic integration, adopting a Reform Program for NATO and forming a commission for cooperation with the Alliance.
