Bosnia expels Serbian diplomats following public funeral for Ratko Mladic

Diplomatic measures in Sarajevo

Bosnia and Herzegovina declared two Serbian embassy officials persona non grata on Tuesday, giving them 48 hours to depart Sarajevo. Foreign Minister Elmedin Konakovic named the expelled diplomats as military attache Milan Dulanovic and intelligence adviser Danko Maksimovic, who serves as a representative for Serbia's Security Intelligence Agency. Konakovic stated that Serbia crossed all red lines through its conduct during and leading up to the funeral. In addition to the expulsions, the Bosnian government withdrew all diplomatic personnel under ministerial jurisdiction from its embassy in Belgrade, leaving only the ambassador and consul who answer directly to the Bosnian presidency.

If I could, I would immediately cut diplomatic ties with Serbia. I can work to minimise relations.

Consular and administrative operations previously handled in Belgrade will transfer to Bosnian embassies in Zagreb and Podgorica. Sarajevo also halted scheduled plans to sign an upcoming regional cooperation accord with Belgrade.

Funerary honors in Belgrade

The diplomatic rift follows the burial of wartime Bosnian Serb army commander Ratko Mladic on Monday at the Church of St. Luke in Belgrade. Mladic died on 27 August at age 84 in The Hague, where he was serving a life sentence after his 2017 conviction for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, including the siege of Sarajevo and the July 1995 massacre of 8,000 Bosniak men and boys in Srebrenica. Thousands of mourners attended the ceremony, where Serbian army soldiers served as pallbearers and the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church presided over the liturgy. At least six Serbian government ministers were present, following a proposal by Justice Minister Nenad Vujic to provide state and military honours before President Aleksandar Vucic stated the event would align with family wishes.

Western condemnation and diplomatic summons

European Union and British officials condemned the official Serbian attendance at the ceremonies. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa issued a joint criticism, describing the images from Belgrade as shocking and detrimental to reconciliation.

The elements of official support and the presence of some senior Serbian officials at the funeral are deeply regrettable. They demonstrate a failure to confront a dark chapter in Europe's recent history and contradict the values underpinning Serbia's path towards the European Union.

In London, the British Foreign Office summoned Serbia's charge d'affaires to protest the event, stating that Mladic presided over some of the worst atrocities in Europe since the Second World War. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas added that candidate nations must demonstrate unequivocal commitment to European values and historical truth.

Repercussions for European accession

The controversy has created immediate institutional consequences for Serbia, which applied for EU membership in 2009 and gained official candidate status in 2012. A European Commission spokesperson told German news agency DPA that European authorities are evaluating formal next steps regarding the candidate country. EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos cancelled a planned official visit to Belgrade, and European Commission representatives indicated that von der Leyen is likely to bypass Serbia during her upcoming tour of the Western Balkans.