On Sunday evening, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg arrived in Sarajevo, kicking off a regional mini tour of the Western Balkans. Accompanied by strong security measures, Stoltenberg met with members of the BiH Presidency at a working dinner upon his arrival in Sarajevo.

His separate talks with the Chairperson of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Borjana Krista, Minister of Defense Zukan Helez, and officials of the international community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including High Representative Christian Schmidt and commanders of the NATO headquarters in Sarajevo and EUFOR, were announced for Monday.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of only three countries in the region outside of NATO. It is a member of the Partnership for Peace program and has an approved Action Plan for NATO membership (MAP), which is a goal defined by the current law on the defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, implementation of reforms that would pave the way for full membership in the Alliance has been persistently blocked by politicians from Republika Srpska led by Milorad Dodik, who simultaneously try to maintain close ties with Russia.