Banja Luka – The President of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, Nenad Stevandić, commented ironically on the departure of the German Minister for European Affairs and Climate, Anna Lirmann, who was declared persona non grata in Republika Srpska.

‘I must apologise,’ Stevandić wrote on the social network X, ‘because during the government session I mistakenly claimed that the German minister had left the airport by plane. In fact, she did not show up for her scheduled flight at Mahovljani airport this morning, despite being announced. But in any case, good luck to her, wherever she goes and however she decides to go.”

The Government of the Republika Srpska declared Anna Lirmann persona non grata, as a political reciprocity measure against the sanctions recently imposed by Germany on high officials of the Republika Srpska, including President Milorad Dodik, Prime Minister Radovan Višković, and the Speaker of the Assembly, Stevandić, himself.

According to the Banja Luka authorities, the decision is aimed at defending the political and institutional integrity of Republika Srpska, believing that the interventions of some German officials, including Lirmann, represent serious interference in internal affairs.

‘This is a legitimate response,’ Stevandić said, ‘to hostile actions aimed at destabilising the democratically elected institutions of Srpska.’

The affair has provoked mixed reactions internationally, further fuelling the climate of tension between the Republika Srpska authorities and some Western capitals, notably Berlin and Vienna, which have recently strengthened the sanctions regime against prominent Srpska figures.