NATO will not let a security vacuum develop in Bosnia and Herzegovina at this time of crisis but political leaders should work together to resolve problems, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on Monday.

Visit to Sarajevo comes after Bosnian Serb leaders bar federal judicial authorities and police from Republika Srpska.

NATO’s secretary general on Monday pledged the military alliance’s “unwavering” support for Bosnia’s territorial integrity after a series of Bosnian Serb separatist moves raised tensions nearly 30 years after the end of a bloody war.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has said the alliance fully supports the territorial integrity of Bosnia and has urged political leaders to resolve tensions fuelled after the state court sentenced to jail the president of Bosnian Serb region.

NATO fully supports Bosnia's territorial integrity and political leaders should resolve tensions that have been fuelled by a jail sentence imposed on the president of the Bosnian Serb region, the alliance's Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on Monday.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks during lecture at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Sarajevo, Bosnia, Monday, March 10, 2025.