Bosnian Serb leader to be barred from Germany, Austria

BERLIN/VIENNA

Germany and Austria have decided to ban entry to Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik and two other senior figures from Bosnia's Serb entity Republika Srpska (RS), according to a statement Thursday.

Germany's Minister of State for Europe, Anna Luhrmann, and Austria's Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger discussed the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina at a meeting in Sarajevo, the German Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

They exchanged views on separatist actions by the RS.

The statement noted that Meinl-Reisinger and Luhrmann agreed that it was urgent to take decisive action against the perpetrators of the constitutional crisis and they conveyed this to Borjana Kristo, chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"The future of Bosnia and Herzegovina is in the EU, and Germany will continue to stand by Bosnia and Herzegovina," said Luhrmann.